Stevinne

Some progress with gratings. One thing I hadn't thought about is how much of the frames show through the openings. The break in the grating on the forward starboard side of the quarter deck will host a bitt, but if you look closely, the frame takes up much of the space and will be visible. I don't think I can remove the cross piece, as it supports the deck I probably can trim the white frame sections a little further back, but might settle for staining them a darker, less noticeable color. Also, I removed the molding at the front of the poop cabin as I realized that the opening I left for the door, while it fit perfectly, would have had the door jamming up against the pilot house in real life. I'm going to move the door a few millimeters over to starboard and redo the molding.
 

I upgraded the Norwegian Pram kit's stand to a cherry wood stand and acrylic pillar.
 

I cut cherry wood sheets using a laser cutter, and glued them together. I slightly sanded the edges.
 

It is a cheap and nice result, but the sanding was a bit frustrating. I'll try 3D CNC next time.
 

One critical question... are you looking at kits or scratch? 
 
Kits, usually just X-acto type blades, sand paper, sanding blocks.  I would suggest first doing a kit or two. Even if it's just something like the ModelExpo/Model Shipways 3-ship "beginner kit".   
 
 Scratch gets you into a whole different world as far as tools.  Many of the furniture tools are too large for model ships.  The only full-size power tool other than maybe an electric screwdriver I've found useful is a scroll saw.  My table saw, mill, and lathe are "small" tools.

I need to order some drill bits and realized I have no idea what sizes work best with ship models for eyebolts and belaying pins and the like. My old bits came from a starter set of tools I'd gotten at Model Expo years back. If anyone has advice on what size range I should be looking at, I'd appreciate it.

Started painting the doors and windows and noticed something odd. While most everything is cast white metal, the small window frame at the bottom is black plastic. I'm not sure what is the reason for the change. My guess, with the paucity of spare wood that came with this kit, is that Mamoli was cutting corners where ever they could at the time I purchased it. I also decided to paint the gilded pieces, which aren't shown here. Good thing I did. As I started painting, I noticed that on many of the pieces the gilding was unevenly applied with the white metal showing through in spots. I'm debating whether or not to paint the doors tan/black to match the decorations on the ship or just leave the brown. I'll probably try one, see how it looks and then make a decision. My plan is to highlight the scroll work on the now brown gilded pieces in white or red to add a little color. 

Making progress. I've completed the decorative strips, cap rails and railings over the cabins. I've ordered some very thin strips of walnut from Model Expo and am considering adding some trim around the edges of the decorative strips to maybe cover up that black line. I've experimented on the leftover bits of cardboard to see if I could sand or use colored marker to cover the black line, but I haven't been happy with the results. I'm currently sanding the stem piece to the figurehead to slide on. I'm happy I thought to test fit the figurehead before I got too involved in installing the beakhead, since the opening on the figurehead is considerably narrower than the stempiece. I've been sanding intermittently all morning and am finally beginning to see some progress. I do plan on painting the lion before he takes his place. 
 

Sometimes, I ask myself "Now why did they do that?" I'm working on the starboard decorations. The Mamoli printed cardboard is entirely covered in faux wood grain printing. But, for some reason, Mamoli also outlined the decorations with a thin black line to show you where to cut. That really doesn't leave any wiggle room for fitting things, as this photo shows. Apparently, the curve from the sterncastle to the waist is a little too long. It wouldn't have been a problem if Mamoli hadn't seen fit to provide a helpful black line to show where things should end. 

Started painting the doors and windows and noticed something odd. While most everything is cast white metal, the small window frame at the bottom is black plastic. I'm not sure what is the reason for the change. My guess, with the paucity of spare wood that came with this kit, is that Mamoli was cutting corners where ever they could at the time I purchased it. I also decided to paint the gilded pieces, which aren't shown here. Good thing I did. As I started painting, I noticed that on many of the pieces the gilding was unevenly applied with the white metal showing through in spots. I'm debating whether or not to paint the doors tan/black to match the decorations on the ship or just leave the brown. I'll probably try one, see how it looks and then make a decision. My plan is to highlight the scroll work on the now brown gilded pieces in white or red to add a little color. 

The first MicroMark link in my post was to the black drill index with sizes 61 to 80 long known as the "Rogers wire drill set." I've always found the "Roger's" brand to be quality bits and they are priced higher for that reason, I suppose. Buyer beware! There are Chinese knock-offs of the old tried and true Rogers bit set that appear nearly identical, save that they are branded as  "Gyros" or not branded at all. Given the lower price asked for these, I can't believe the bits are all that good because that's the only way they can reduce production costs.
 
I can't speak to the quality of the boxed set of tubes full of bits pictured. I've not bought them, but I have bought similar tubes from "the usual suspects" and found them useable for modeling purposes. I don't doubt the case is cheaply constructed and the bits duller than professional machinist-level bits costing several times as much. I found them offered from https://www.pjtool.com/ which is a mail order company out of Edgewood, New York. It appears that they sell Asian knock-offs of lots of small tools modelers would be interested in using. They have a big selection of hemostats, forceps, and clamps, a lot of other modeling hand tools. Their prices seem rather reasonable, and what you'd expect for "Harbor Freight quality." That said, a lot of Harbor Freight hand tools are quite suitable for hobby use. We're not doing open heart surgery with them. I've never done business with them, but the prices are low enough I'd expect anybody could afford to risk a few bucks on a tool and see if it was worth it. If anybody's done business with them, chime in. 

The bits in the wooden box hold up and are a good deal.  However check the sizes as I found some were mislabeled as to size.  Take the time to be sure the right size is in eaach tube and that all 10 match.  Then when you need them you can be sure that you are using the right size - this is the voice of experience speaking...
Kurt

Hi Stevinne. It really depends on what scale you working on. Am sure if you give that bit of infomation a few of us could let you know what size you may need. Gary

Started the deck planking. First step was running to the store for a permanent marker to add "tar" to the plank edges. There were no black Sharpies available, so I had to settle for some brand named "Jot." They smell pretty strong, so there's no chance I'm going to forget to cap the pen.
I'm already concerned the kit hasn't come with enough deck planking, so I'm trying my best to stretch it. That's why the planking ends at the focsle door, since the closed door will hide what is inside. I do have to plank some of the deck under the sterncastle, since that entrance is open. But I'm saving that to see if my odd-sized left-over pieces can be used. 

More work on the starboard side. For some reason, I've found planking this ship to be a real chore. Happy that most of it seems done. I've also noticed that most of the photos I shoot for this log seem to come in upside down. I eventually figured out that's because I'm left-handed, so I use the shutter button on the left side. When I flip the phone and take pictures with the shutter button on the right side, the photos come in right-side up. 

More work on the starboard side planking.

I need to order some drill bits and realized I have no idea what sizes work best with ship models for eyebolts and belaying pins and the like. My old bits came from a starter set of tools I'd gotten at Model Expo years back. If anyone has advice on what size range I should be looking at, I'd appreciate it.

The micro drill bits Mark is talking about run from size 60 (largest) to 80 (smallest).  I tend to mostly use 72 and 76, which (coincidentally) are the years I graduated from high school and college.  I normally work in 1/64 or 1/72 (or there abouts) and they work well for me for eyebolts and such.
 
    I get mine on Amazon.

Get the below set of wire bits sizes 61 to 80 and you'll be covered up to around a 64th of an inch. Then buy a small set of bits between a 32nd or 16th of an inch and a half inch and you should be well covered. The Rogers bit set pictured below gives you one bit for each size in a handy covered drill index, but you will break them every so often, so you need to have spares on hand.  It's worth the price, though, because you get a nifty drill-index for them which is definitely handy for keeping your "in use" bit separate from your new bit stock. (The do dull with use over time and you don't want to mix up your dull ones with your sharp ones in the tubes.) Get on Model Expo and MicroMark's email lists (sign up on their websites.) When one of them has a sale on mini-drill bits, which will come in tubes holding ten of the same size, buy one of each size. (Sometimes the prices are as low as half-off.)  Better yet, buy the second set pictured below which has tubes of ten bits each of the same size ranges in a nice case.
 
https://www.micromark.com/The-Rogers-Drill-Bit-Set-61-80-Set-of-20?msclkid=312a1cafe1631f9090b778b70e4777de&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NX_NTM_Shopping_Segregated&utm_term=4576442278804873&utm_content=Drill Bits
 

 
 
https://www.pjtool.com/542-100-pc-micro-drill-bit-set-with-pin-vise-drill.html?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=numbered micro drill bit set&utm_content=Tool- PLA- Shopping&utm_campaign=Tool- PLA- Shopping&msclkid=b9a9d42bc2af16550898b0332a96c

 
The boxed set also contains what appears to be a decent pin vise to go with them. These small bits won't survive use in a high speed rotary tool, so you'll get a lot of use out of the pin vise which has four collet chucks inside it to properly hold the full range of bit sizes in the set. (Or you can spend a few bucks more and treat yourself to a nice set of top of the line Starrett pin vises.
 
Starrett Pin Vise Set, 0.010-0.200, Taper, 4Pc S240Z | Zoro

 
 

Stevinne, at one point Model Expo offered a wooden box with like 20 different microdrills sizes.  There were 10 of each size.  I don't know if they still offer it but it was good value for the money and I have yet to wear out or loose the bits.

I need to order some drill bits and realized I have no idea what sizes work best with ship models for eyebolts and belaying pins and the like. My old bits came from a starter set of tools I'd gotten at Model Expo years back. If anyone has advice on what size range I should be looking at, I'd appreciate it.

Making progress. I've completed the decorative strips, cap rails and railings over the cabins. I've ordered some very thin strips of walnut from Model Expo and am considering adding some trim around the edges of the decorative strips to maybe cover up that black line. I've experimented on the leftover bits of cardboard to see if I could sand or use colored marker to cover the black line, but I haven't been happy with the results. I'm currently sanding the stem piece to the figurehead to slide on. I'm happy I thought to test fit the figurehead before I got too involved in installing the beakhead, since the opening on the figurehead is considerably narrower than the stempiece. I've been sanding intermittently all morning and am finally beginning to see some progress. I do plan on painting the lion before he takes his place. 
 

Depending on what glue you used, once you are comfortable around ship models, you can either try to correct the mistakes with some sanding and applying a thin second layer of planking or simply loosen the glue, remove the wood that is causing the problem and start over. I have never done that, but I have seen people on this site and on other sites who have revisited projects, removed bad work and made things turn out well. 

Depending on what glue you used, once you are comfortable around ship models, you can either try to correct the mistakes with some sanding and applying a thin second layer of planking or simply loosen the glue, remove the wood that is causing the problem and start over. I have never done that, but I have seen people on this site and on other sites who have revisited projects, removed bad work and made things turn out well. 

I'm not sure what kind of reading you did before you got started, but I think Frank Mastini's "Ship Modeling Simplified" is invaluable for a beginner. It does a very good job of simply explaining the various steps in building a ship, everything from planking to rigging. It looks like you can pick up a used copy on Amazon for about $9, including shipping. https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Modeling-Simplified-Techniques-Construction/dp/0071558675/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QZS69USMSME7&keywords=Ship+model+simplified&qid=1679171208&sprefix=ship+model+simplified%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-1
 
Right now Model Expo is having a half-price sale on their Model Shipways kits. The Lobster Smack looks like a great deal for $37 and is one of their shipwright series, which, as Jaeger said, are really designed to introduce people to the hobby. 
https://modelexpo-online.com/muscongus-bay-lobster-smack.html

Depending on what glue you used, once you are comfortable around ship models, you can either try to correct the mistakes with some sanding and applying a thin second layer of planking or simply loosen the glue, remove the wood that is causing the problem and start over. I have never done that, but I have seen people on this site and on other sites who have revisited projects, removed bad work and made things turn out well. 

Nu, unless you developed a magnetic attraction for the subject.
 
I wrote that to make a point. 
The point is:
with a wood ship model kit, all is never lost if you make a mistake. With wood, the same (or most often) better components can be self manufactured.  The barrier to scratch is more imaginary than real, unlike with a kit of molded plastic pieces,