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Melissa T.

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Everything posted by Melissa T.

  1. Traveling quite a bit last month, so not too much progress though the hull is now complete with rub strakes, rudders, etc. Turning attention now to deck and pilot house.
  2. Thanks Roger, and thanks for the recommendation of Durham’s putty. I had never heard of the stuff. I like that I can apply it with my fingertips and that the excess sands off easily.
  3. Interesting, and I may try that! Here’s where I am right now, after four coats of Rust-oleum automotive primer and a lot of sanding. I used the Durham’s water putty to fill cracks, etc, which was an excellent suggestion. Have also drilled a few holes for exhaust and bilge. Traveling for the next couple of weeks, so I won’t get back to it until late in the month.
  4. Basic hull is mostly complete, minus some more sanding down to 600 grit and the rub strakes that I still have to make. Amazingly, it actually matches when I lay it on top of the plans, so I’m happy with it! Someone in previous posts mentioned using shellac, and I wanted to ask about that. What shellac, or other product, could I use to seal this hull and fill any remaining cracks in the wood grain? I would want to be able to sand again after applying this product, and then ultimately airbrush with an acrylic primer and then paint. Thanks in advance! Melissa
  5. Thank you, Bob for a lot of useful information! I'm very familiar with the crash boats website, and have been in contact with the gentleman who runs it. That's where I found the operator's manual for the 85' ASR, learned about the mahogany planking, etc. I will definitely check out the Flickr site And thanks to everyone for your kind comments and good advice on airbrushes - much to review and think about! Melissa
  6. Roger - Thanks! My Philadelphia model is at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs. I do some volunteer work there, so I offered up the model for the exhibit and they were happy to take me up on it. Thanks for the insights on airbrush painting. I just want to apply primer when the time comes, and then the appropriate paints for this WWII vessel in the CBI theater. Melissa
  7. Despite an illness followed immediately by the holidays, I’ve been able to make some progress on this boat and have now completed the planking below the chine. I was able to find and download the 1944 operator’s manual, which is proving to be an invaluable resource. From it, I learned that the planking on the actual boats was mahogany, and installed completely longitudinally - no diagonal planking. So that’s how I’m building my model. Though I know they surely used a different species of mahogany on the actual boats, I still like the idea of making it as authentic as reasonably possible. I will be working on this hull for quite some time, building up the sides and a considerable amount of filling cracks, sanding and smoothing are all yet to come. Looking ahead though, I do have a couple of questions: - I have never used an airbrush, but would like to do so for this model. Can anyone recommend a good one for this project, preferably something under $500? - Can anyone recommend a good primer to apply to this hull when the time comes? Thank you and Happy New Year to all!
  8. Thanks Keith - Definitely not easy, but I learned that going super slow is (for me) the trick to staying on the line I had drawn on the wood.
  9. After a lot of consideration and reviewing the various suggestions, I decided to go with 1/8” model aircraft plywood for the keel and bulkheads. I wanted the simplicity of working with only one kind of wood for this phase of the project, and I’m not worried about splitting on the edges as I won’t be using any nails. I’m glad I invested in the ginormous DeWalt scroll saw, as I don’t think I could have cut this wood with anything else! Next step will be to begin gluing in the bulkheads one by one at (hopefully) perfectly right angles to the keel. Then lots and lots of fairing. So far so good!
  10. Al - Yes, the plans have your signature, dated 1986. Also, your depiction of P-564 that you did for us last year hangs proudly on a wall in our office 😊 Are the Sea Blue and Deck Blue paints you mention available commercially for modeling?
  11. Thank you, Phil. Follow-on question - where does one procure this model aircraft plywood? I'm not familiar with it and have never used it.
  12. Roger - Thank you. This is extremely helpful. I ordered a Dewalt scroll saw today and will take your advice on the wood. I also like the idea of diagonal planking on the bottom, below the chine. All things I would not have thought of on my own!
  13. With three kits now under my belt, I decided to throw caution to the wind and attempt my first scratch build. My father-in-law, WO James H. Flynn, was first mate on board the P-564 an 85' rescue boat operating off the coast of Japanese-occupied Burma in World War II, and I want to build that boat in his honor. The CBI (China-Burma-India theater, though often more commonly thought of as "Confusion Beyond Imagination") is often overlooked, but these men served under extremely difficult circumstances and played an important role in hastening the end of the overall war in the Pacific. P-564 was specifically involved in reconnaissance operations of Japanese-held areas and the covert insertion of OSS teams into Burma in the closing months of the war. She was one of eight such vessels built in mid-1944 by Herreshoff Manufacturing in Bristol, RI. I was able to obtain a copy of the plans for the 85' ARBs, and from those I was able to make cardboard templates for a false keel and bulkheads. The plans are in 1:32 scale, so I decided to stick with that in order to keep things as simple as possible. I've also been able to find key accessories (like the 20mm cannon, etc.) online in 1:32, it was an easy choice. I am doing POB because that is what I am familiar with from kits. As I am not interested in learning CAD (again, keeping things simple), I decided to make a fiberboard prototype of the keel and bulkheads both to see if this project is even doable for me, and also so I could get a three-dimensional sense of what the hull actually looks like. (It has, for example, a fairly pronounced chine, which I'm not sure I would have realized without the fiberboard prototype). I've invested all of $20 in materials so far, so if this is a flop I won't have wasted a lot of money! Here's where things get serious, and where I could use advice from the experts on this forum. As this is my first scratch build, I am taking this very slowly, step-by-step, and trying to figure things out as I go along. The next step will be to build this framework in wood. Should I use plywood, MDF, or something else for the keel and bulkheads? What wood would be a good idea to use for the actual planking? Would a scroll saw, or something else, be advisable to cut out the keel and bulkheads? I'm attaching pictures so you can hopefully see what I'm trying to do and what I've done so far. Thank you for any advice you all have to offer!
  14. Just sent in a donation - money well spent to support MSW!
  15. I happened upon this striking painting yesterday in the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. The British artist, Edward Wadsworth, did not invent the dazzle patterns, but apparently was involved in designing them for warships during WWI.
  16. All good points on the CA glue. I'd definitely rather not use it at all as there are just too many things that can go wrong. Given your experience and insights, I'm going to try to avoid it altogether as I work through my Philadelphia.
  17. There’s a lot of excellent advice on MSW for the first-time builder, much of which I read carefully before embarking on this hobby. As I slowly worked through my second build though, I had some thoughts and insights that had not occurred to me previously and that I thought might be useful to the second-time builder. They may not apply for everyone, but they did for me. Here are my lessons learned from my second kit, from the sublime (at least to me!) to the ridiculous: 1. You’re first kit may well have been an entry-level kit to get your feet wet, as mine was. For the second one, pick something that appeals to you personally on an aesthetic or historic level. Make sure it’s something you can actually tackle successfully, but don’t be afraid to stretch just a bit. 2. Find a build log for your kit by someone light years ahead of you in skill level. Print out the pages for the steps you’re working on (after running them through Google translate if they’re in a different language). You won’t be able to replicate what they have done, but they will give you ideas on specific techniques to use and ways you can improve your own build. 3. The finished product is really cool and fun to look at, but by far the real joy is in the lengthy, painstaking process of building it. Don’t worry about how long it’s taking – revel in it. 4. It’s not so much a kit that you’re building, as it is a series of problems that you’re solving. Thoroughly research, ponder over, and test EVERYTHING before committing anything to glue. I love that aspect of this hobby – problem solver’s paradise. 5. It’s impossible to have too much workspace or too much lighting. 6. Invest in the right tools, and don’t go cheap on these. They will sometimes cost more than the kit, but pay off many times over in terms of a better result and much less frustration. 7. Annealing brass strips before bending is a thing. Who knew? (I actually had to look up the word “anneal”) Highly recommend getting one of those little butane torches for culinary use. Better ship modeling AND a crispy topping for your crème brulee – it’s a win-win! 8. CA glue is the worst thing ever invented by humankind. You have to use it anyway, because it’s impossible to clamp everything that’s been glued with PVA. Your fingers will get stuck together with the CA, and there will be unsightly glue stains where you least want them. But it works. When it absolutely, positively can’t be clamped, reach for the CA. Get the gel variety, and apply with a needle tip. I hate the stuff. I love the stuff.
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