MichaelZ

I also received recently the same yellow planks from ModelExpo when ordering boxwood for decks. I reached out to them with my concern about the color and they very promptly exchanged the originals for basswood which reflected the tone I was after. I appreciated their customer service and look forward to working with them again.

Hello, everyone, and let me share a genuine ‘thanks!’ I’ve just completed my first model, OcCre’s Essex, and would not have been as intrigued, engaged, and simply delighted throughout the build were it not for the invaluable assistance and informative insights provided throughout these forums by the members of MSW. I decided to try my first ship after re-reading ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ and thought it would be interesting to learn more about the ship through the process. Instead, I learned the ‘mouth of a sailor’ and over the course of several months set several new household records for the longest uninterrupted string of expletives. Suffice it to say, I’m hooked. I’ve taken to checking these forums almost daily, at first searching for specific advice on my particular ship but now to enjoy the creativity on incredibly interesting builds throughout the logs, the thinking and processes undertaken in addressing challenges, the camaraderie amongst enthusiasts and the sharing of research and experience about ships. I’ve come to especially appreciate the patience and encouragement of talented builders of all levels shown in these forums. An early and appreciated lesson that I discovered here was that mistakes are okay, fidelity to plans isn’t required and that, at least for this ship, you’re the captain. As ridiculous as it may sound, this insight really help me complete my ship after countless mistakes and for that, you have my genuine thanks. I’m looking forward to continuing the learning, and soon sharing, here as I start OcCre’s Cazador (I figured that I should stick with another OcCre model now that I kinda understand their instructions and rigging schematics) and have already found several build logs here providing inspiration and guidance. Thanks again to everyone here!