DocRob

Your Macchi looks fantastic, Chris. It always amazes me to see, what great results you achieve with these card kits. I never tried one, but your logs are tempting, so maybe... Cheers Rob

You are cruising through your build Craig, it seems and what you produce pleases the eye. The chassis, motor combo looks so realistic, same with the dashboard. Cheers Rob

My first and only wooden ship build until now is Vanguard's Duchess of Kingston and it was a pure pleasure build. I finished hull and masts in about three month and had lots of fun learning new techniques and I'm a bit proud with what I achieved. After a longer brake, I now start with rigging and this will keep me busy for a while. The DoK might not be a beginner kit, but it's very well designed, has a great manual and plans and there are plenty of very helpful build logs here on MSW. My planking might not be historical correct (I consider to buy a NRG planking clinic kit for further enlightenment), but overall, the build never frustrated me. Like you, I wanted to start my wooden ship modeling career with a subject, I really like to build, but I knew beforehand, I will challenge me a lot. I have an engineering background and decades of model building, using lots of different materials on my back and have a personal quality approach and like to challenge myself. Without these, I'm sure, I would have failed with the DoK. Besides the pointed bow, she has all you asked for and adds some flashy decorations as a bonus. Cheers Rob

The worn effect on the radiator looks fantastic Craig. This seems to develop into a clinic of wear and tear and I'm all eyes and ears, as I really like studying these effects. Cheers Rob

Very nice progress Craig and I learn a lot about the real thing. Definitely an interesting car. Cheers Rob

I can't seem to find building time lately. Nonetheless, I added all the wooden fittings to the yards, glued the PE footrest holders in with CA and inserted brass rods for pinning the yards to the masts. Then all was sprayed matte black. Cheers Rob

The Model Factory Hiro belts are a very nice addition and more detailed than the ones Tamiya supplies. Interestingly, it takes about the same time for the Spot Model parcels to arrive on my doorstep, but I live in Spain. The Canary Islands always need some extra effort, to ship goods here . Your engine looks busy and sports fantastic details. The exhausts are great. Cheers Rob

True words Paul, thank you for that. Modeling for me is competing with myself only, as I never went to competitions. I like to challenge myself and as I'm easily bored, staying with the always same subjects, I like to diversify my projects and try to learn new techniques with every project, I start. You are absolutely right, that acting this way, never will lead to a mastership in all these disciplines, but I accepted that. I feel that working with many different subjects widens the view for possible solutions and applied techniques. If you are an accomplished airbrusher, like yourself, (I'm using airbrushes since over thirty years) it helps with wooden ship modeling as well, for two reasons, first, directly, you can avoid rattle cans and apply color smooth and fine, where many traditional model ship builder would use a brush. Second and even more important, you learned to have the correct disciplined mindset and quality approach, that is needed for both, airbrushing and ship building. I think, ship modeling has closed a bit into the direction of plastic modeling recently, due to extensive use of photoetch, resin casting, 3D-printing, ... and if you are willing to leave the traditional path, skills earned in plastic modelling, become more and more helpful. Your verdict is correct though, but general modeling experience and a quality orientated open mindset helps a lot to close the gap to the masters, but for sure, never reaching it, unfortunately . I hope your struggles with wooden ship modeling will be solved soon and you still have fun, because that's what count most. It's a hobby and meant to be fun. Cheers Rob

Thank you for your encouragements, I omitted some macro shots, revealing the shortcomings of my clumsy rigging . Cheers Rob

Long time no see and there is a reason for it, RIGGING. I built some WW I biplanes over the years and found the rigging difficult but manageable, but this is something completely different, this is frightening and I don't know, how the talented builders here manage to rig their ships to perfection. BUT, I will not give up, I will try to finish the Duchess of Kingston as good as I can, but I can tell you, never in my modeling career I felt so lost. Luckily there are many good build threads here on MSW, which helped me during the earlier stages of the build and will help with the rigging too. I started rigging, adding several blocks and deadeyes to the bowsprit and yard. The process is complicated and my seizing looks terrible in places. CA glue for securing my simple knots is the savior. The bowsprit and yard are not permanently attached to the hull, as I want the maximum possible freedom of movement as long as possible. My rigging will be far from perfect and I'm willing to take some shortcuts. I hope my technique will develop, while at it and in the end the DoK will look at least ok. I will continue to pre-rig all the masts, before adding them to the hull. Cheers Rob

Nice progress Craig, I will see through your build, If you can convert me into a Italeri Bugatti buyer. I considered it sometimes, but I don't like Italeri's quality approach generally and have not one of their kits in my huge stash, therefore. Cheers Rob

Somehow with my approach 25 years ago, the fit of the bulwark looks decent. I cant remember the building sequence, but given my non existent experience at the time and also lack of internet resources, because there was no internet then , I guess, I followed the manual. It looks like this, hope that helps (yes, it's not up to even my standards today). Cheers Rob

I will follow your great build log to gain some motivation. I started the kit maybe 25 years ago and knew next to nothing about wooden ship modeling. I managed the first planking and since then the Le Renard is a shelf queen. Last year, I reentered the hobby and built the Vanguard Duchess of Kingston as my first 'serious' build and finished all the woodwork, hull and masts and try to find the courage for rigging right now. The Renard will be finished, if possible at a later stage. I visited the replica about 20years ago and that should be motivation enough. Cheers Rob

Looking good RGL, but I'm not sure if polishing works. Depending on the silver color used, there will be visible grain, disrupting the chrome appearance. I experimented a bit with chrome and polished aluminum lately and found the best chrome you can spray is Alclad onto Tamiya LP1 lacquer gloss black. The LP 1 need to be thinned with at least two thirds of leveling thinner and the Alclad chrome should be applied in very thin layers, slowly building up the chrome. The finish is very fragile and you have to be careful not to leave fingerprints or scratches. I wouldn't recommend strong decal solvents, I used lukewarm water with a drop of detergent. Cheers Rob

Nice project Craig, can't wait for the paint job, faded and chipped. Cheers Rob

Thank you Theodosius, it's my first wooden ship build and only the thought of rigging makes me shiver. In normal live, I tie my shoes and that's it . The correction of my mistake with the mizzen mast, seems to be robust enough to take the strain, luckily. Cheers Rob

Thank you Craig, you should do yourself a favor and get one of the Tamiya P-38 kits. There is nothing to regret. I think, I learned a lot about finishing through my car builds. It's not perfect, but I'm satisfied with the outcome. Cheers Rob

Thank you Dan, I've just seen that you built the Arado 196B, which looks absolutely beautiful. Only yesterday, I held the box in my hand, thinking about, building the Arado next. I want to learn to airbrush camo patterns better freehanded, so it will be unlikely the Arado, but it's not finally decided. Cheers Rob

Thank you Gentlemen, the so called Gabelschwanzteufel or Fork Tailed Devil was boring to build (Tamiya top quality ) but fun to rivet and finish. My goal was to achieve a polished aluminum surface as shiny as possible and I devoted some time to develop my modus operandi. It will not be my last NMF plane for sure, as some airframes look best with this finish, like a P-51 as well. @Landlubber Mike Good that you've looked only for the hair, but hey, I have a weak spot here too . Cheers Rob

Thank you Ron, Chris and Keith for explaining your method. The common process you describe is to assemble the masts completely off the model. I wouldn't have thought of that, but now, pondering about, it seems logical. Handling is much easier this way, but I'm not sure, if I want to add the yards right away, but will definitely do all the preparations to accept the yards, before starting with the shrouds. @hollowneck I will use my razor saw with a very fine blade for the surgery of the Gentlemen. The construction of the hull took about two and a half month and was faster done than thought. For the rigging, I expected more, given my non existent expertise. It's not often that I feel that lost with modeling . Cheers Rob

After more than a year, it's about time to push my fears away and start rigging my Duchess of Kingston, something I have never done before. All starts with one question for you experts. Do you prefer to build up the masts in sections, platform by platform and rig the shrouds for each level or do you build up the complete masts and rig them continuously. The first variant would ensure easier handling and less danger to knock the DoK from the table during rigging, but the manual suggests to build up the entire masts before rigging. I would really like to hear your approach as I feel more than a bit lost with all these ropes and knots. This is where I actually are with my build. All the mast parts and spars are prepared too. Cheers Rob

The tracks worked out nicely Craig. The snow looks very convincing too, but I would have left some parts of the engine deck and exhaust protectors free of snow, where it would have melted with the engine heat. I once read an article about producing icicles from clear sprue, but forgot about the details. I never tried snow and ice before, so I'm eager to see your 'recipe' Cheers Rob

Some pics under bright sunlight with the now finished prop spinners. Unfortunately it is very windy, so no risky angles, the wicked woman would have gone airborne . Cheers Rob

Thank you Ken and Brad, as with most of my builds, the intention was to learn something new. In this case riveting and high shine aluminum finish. Like always, there is room to improve, but overall my methods worked, helped by the good decals and the chosen scheme, which allowed to airbrush the model without masking onto the fragile polished aluminum. The riveting with Eduard decals worked well, the rivets were printed to perfect fit and I think, covering whole areas of the plane with riveting decals works better than the HGW approach with wet transfers, where every single rivet sits on the model by itself, without protection from carrier film. Unfortunately there are only a few rivet sets available from Eduard. Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias señhores, I had tons of fun with the aluminum finish over the rivets. It was eye testing, with black basing, matte and gloss black sections adding black rivets onto the black and finishing with blinding polished aluminum, but worth it. The kit itself is so good in every aspect, that you can fully concentrate on airbrushing and finishing. I would have liked to add some panels in other shades of aluminum, but shied away from masking them. I've done that some years ago on a P-47, but with less shine. She's indeed a wicked beast . Cheers Rob