Luord

Hey John, Sorry for not answering you sooner— I primarily flew P-3’s based on the east coast of U.S. in the ‘70s & ‘80s. Became intimately familiar with the North Atlantic and visited most of the nations that boarder it. A busy time — with the Cold War at full throttle we spent many hours looking at, or looking for, Soviet Naval Combatants. Today the P-3 has been replaced by the P-8 (B-737) and the mission has broadened significantly. You know your getting old when everything you flew is now in a museum 😆.

Apologies for this post in advance, as I’m still not sure what I’m doing when I post from my iPad. I do better on a laptop, but need to figure this out. Appreciate your suggestion about using the Snapshot section to post some pics. Sidebar: My dad was from Ilford & mom was from Bristol. I was born in London.

Thanks. I hope to post some pics when I get the hull completed. A scratch build would be a fun and challenging project.

Retired Naval Aviator and apprentice model boat builder here. Currently building a Dumas kit of the Lightning Sail Boat, which I’ve had on a closet shelf since 2007, the year I retired, when I thought I'd pick up the hobby while my dad was still around and could lend his expertise, but life — and death got in the way. I built many a model airplane as a kid and a few ship models, mostly of the plastic variety. My father, on the other hand, was a master model ship builder — in my view anyway. He built wood ship models for as long as I can remember. Always the complex and intricate. With his binocular loop on tying rigging he looked like a surgeon in theater. On the other hand my love is sailboats, so the Lightning was a good starting point for me. However, I found the Dumas kit instructions lacking so I began a search online for more detailed information which led me to MSW, and in particular to Andrew J’s built log of the Lightning. I’ve learned a lot from that build log and all the great pics Andrew posted of Lightning #1. Andrew’s finished model is a work of art and an aspiration for this neophyte modeler. My build is currently at the hull painting stage with subassembly construction underway on the rudder and cockpit furniture, (attempting to make slat flooring and seating). A lot more difficult cutting curves at scale than I thought. At some point I should attempt to put up a build log. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy the craftsmanship and camaraderie on display here at the MSW forum. Cheers to all.