Scottish Guy

Welcome aboard here at MSW Micha

I live not far from Inverness and unfortunately I never got to see auld Nessie , can´t get drunk enough to see her lol... or in the wild (with Urquhardt Castle, Loch Ness)... Micha

Hi Simon, can hear you. I hate the work I´m doing (painting the fence). Other garden work is fine but painting a fence? Unfortunately it has to be done because the last three years it hasn´t been done Micha

Hi Johnny, that is my biggest issue. The scale, the plastic kit (Revell) comes in 1:96, a size I really like, the Sergal come in 1:124 which is compared to the plastic kit quiete small. I like the models bigger because my hands are having issues with small things (thanks to arthritis). I noticed that in the LOG here, I think it is the one from Popeye. I like the way the ship is done. I´m a bit torn if I should go with the plastic kit or the wooden kit. I like the wooden kit stuff but I don´t like the size. Maybe get the plans and do a wooden scratch build in 1:96? Micha

Hi Phil, why did I expect something like that lol... I might buy them and maybe the Maritime Museum Aberdeen has some plans and combining them might be a good base to start that model. I´m tending to the wooden model since plastic is nice but I have already the 1959 Cutty Sark in plastic, think a wooden model would be agreat opportunity. Micha

Hi Dave, you are correct, Aberdeen is roughly a 2 hrs drive. Maybe it is really worth to visit the museum. Maybe they even can supply some proper plans, which would be amazing tbh. Will give it a go soon, we wanted to visit Aberdeen anyway in three weeks, so maybe that will be the time to visit the museum. Micha

Thank you Patrick for the answer. Unfortunately I noticed too that there is not much of information about the Thermopylae. I don´t understand why because she´s pretty close to the Cutty Sark by look and shape. I love both ships even if the Cutty Sark is much more known. The price seems to be pretty reasonable to me especially since the bundle is made out of two ships, the Thermopylae and the Cutty Sark "LePicolle" in 1:200 scale. On the other hand I can get a Revell Thermopylae in 1:96 (plastic kit). Torn between the plastic kit (1:96) and the wooden Sergal kit (1:124). Micha

Hi folks, just a wee update. I didn´t give up on the project, it´s just a wee break because of my return to work and the garden (that´s the unfortnate circumstance when having a bungalow with front- and back garden. But I will come back and finish the ship for sure. I don´t give up guys, don´t worry... Micha

Hi Brent and welcome here on MSW, great to have you aboard. Micha

Dear fellow model builders, unfortunately I can´t find much about the Thermopylae at all, seems to be a not so well liked model. Also there is not much about the Sergal kit except that it seems to be a... "difficult" kit to build that seemed to have cast some frustration on some builders. I like the Thermopylae as I love the Cutty Sark. I have the opportunity to buy the Sergal Thermopylae (791) and the Mantua Cutty Sark "LePicolle" (612) as a bundle for around GBP 100. Both are wooden kits and both are of interest for me. Questions are... are these kits worth the money and are they doable or should I, as a not yet very experienced wooden builder, keep my hands of both of them? Micha

Hello Ralf, welcome aboard here on MSW. All the best from Scotland. Hallo Ralf, willkommen hier auf MSW. DIe besten Grüsse aus Schottland. Micha

Welcome back Scott. I hope you will find all the answers you need and look for Micha

This will really depend on the device you use. If you use a computer / laptop it will come out the same way you can see it. If you use a tablet it might come out the same way you can see it, depending on the settings of the tablet, it could aber shown underneath when the screen size is reduced. On an smartphone all pictures will come underneath each other, same with text and pictures, it will come as a long flow chart, text and picture in a long flow... (if you know what I mean). So yes, it strongly depends on your screen size because the text has to come out still in a size that can de read properly, therefore the pictures will be reduced but the text only to a size that still makes it easy possible to read. Micha

I get the point, but then they should name them different. But I somehow I can understand the idea of the manufacturer, they just try to save money and also make as much as possible money out of it. But a bit of authencity would be somehow appreciated especially when they intend to be a kit of historic background. Micha

I do it the first way James explains it. I just type in my text, then I upload a picture, insert it and set the size I want it to have. Then I just place my cursor behind the picture, press ENTER and start typing again and so on... I noticed that some people just add the pictures and don´t leave any gap between pictures, I personally don´t like that (makes scrolling and looking the pictures much harder. I always press at least once (normally twice) ENTER after every picture, even if I insert two or more pictures in a row (which rarely happens). I prefer to separate pictures wiht text so the flow of reading the thread is a bit more easier. Micha

Unfortunately I have to agree with you here Dean. The kit is started and is far from reality or being authentic. When checking the replicas that have been built you can see that the Billing Boat has nothing really to do with the real Skuldelev ships expect maybe the shape (which ship doesn´t). Again I have to agree with you. To get this kit to a level of being somewhat authentic you would have to build it from scratch and shouldn´t use the kit in any way (tbh. you should avoid that kit if you want something authentic). However, I started it and I will finish it but like you said, I will focus on getting it finished, will learn by the mistakes I´ve done and will progress with the next project. I don´t understand the intend of these kits since they are not even close of being authentic or realistic. I also don´t understand the intend to make the builders life even harder than it should or could be. There are ways to manufature the kits in a more authentic look and way and it might even make the build easier than these pretty tension to glue planks. Also the spine / keel build could have been much easier than the way they do it. I´m a bit looking forward to the 1:20 kit of Billing Boats called "The Skuldelevs" which seems more authentic than the newer version in 1:25. Not sure yet, since I just had a brief look over the kit, nothing to deep yet. Anyway, I´m very grateful that I was allowed to meet you here Dean. You are a really kind and amazing well of knowledge and wisdom and even more grateful I am that you are willing to share all these knowledge to a beginner in wooden kits. I bow before you for this generous behaviour of you. Micha

I´m completely with you here Allan, but sometimes people just can´t afford the "proper" stuff. Surely AutoCAD is on the market for ages but the prices they call are hideous. Also I think that software like AutoCAD is way over the top for what we would need it, it is a professional drawing software for engineers and architects. Blender on the other side is most likely for game designers and video producers but as far as I know as well for free (at least nowadays) and you only pay for some really intensive addons some "bucks". I once tried Blender and have to admit, it is not me, I´m too old or not intelligent enough for it. I can draw 3D pretty well with my hands and a ruler or geometric devices but on a computer I´m a noob like hell. I don´t know why, I would have expected to be great on the computer as well but it just doesn´t work. Same thing is with photography, I own the entire Adobe Suite but barely can use Photoshop or Illustrator, I struggle even with Animate or Premiere Pro but I know exactly what kind of filter I use on my SLR / DSLR to get the same if not a better (more authentic and realistic) effect on the picture than Photoshop ever could archive (unfortunately you can see differences between a real photo taken with a camera and filters or a Photoshop edited version). Does it make me a bad photographer because I can´t use Photoshop? I often get told that pictures are only amazing when post edited with Photoshop, my pictures are often get told to be unreal (when taken with filters and using some settings for aperture and shutter speed). Sometimes I think the problem is that most people don´t know anymore how a real photo looks like since Photoshop and AI took over in Smartphones and most DSLR or Mirrorless cameras. Even when comparing a raw with a jpeg version of the same picture (which my camera produces both at the same time) is a shocking difference. When you can compare it with a pure picture taken with a 1886 Kodak 6x6 camera, then you know how a real picture looks like. So is it always helpful to use computer aided software or is it just the "lazy" way to go because it often does half the job for us? I don´t know the answer, maybe it is because I just don´t know how to use those softwares. But I´m willing to learn and willing to try, but then spending hundreds of USD or GBP for something I´m still trying to figure out? Don´t think so... Micha

The GErman equivalent would be "Tunnelblick" and I knew what it means but not explicit in this situation, but now I think I know it. That I shouldn´t think about any future build but only the one I´m building right now. At the moment I don´t think about any new build lol just the Roar Ege. That´s a lie, I still have in mind about the next model, what kind of ship. But I´m not even sure if the next model would be a plastic or wooden kit. I´m waiting for a 1959 Revell Cutty Sark kit but I would prefer a wooden kit though... so yes, I should focus on the current build, not an anything else at the moment. Micha

Thank you Eric, I´m wondering how many here speak German lol... Micha

No offense taken and I agree Joachim. I`m not a fan of surgery at all, my GP also told me already to wait what the hospital says but he is also not a fan of surgery, he told me already that there is even a 50% chance that my shoulder completely stiffens up which wouldn´t be a benefit at all. Physio I tried already, made it even worse. Right now they think it might be an impingement of the shoulder but that is not certain yet. I had x-ray and might even get a MRI. We will see what times bring but I don´t really want a surgery and when I can get a different job within the company I will definitely not do the surgery. Micha P.S. Liebe Grüsse an meine alte Heimat (Land).

Thank you Keith for the kind and honest words. I didn´t expect to do a home run here, it was what it is, a build to learn and an indicator of what I still have to learn. I will even keep this build, despite it is a bad build (in case I can´t somehow fix it) and put it on display in my work room as warning memorial about what I had to learn. The next build might be better, I hope it will be better because I learnt a lot already and I learnt where my experience is well formed and where I´m missing skills and experience. Micha

Thank you, every day ia a learning day I will keep this in mind for the next build. Again thank you Dean, I think I made a lot of mistakes with this build but I´m determined to finish this build. This is a learning episode and as this I take that build. We are mend to make mistakes, I made mistakes so yes it is the way to learn. I would appreciate if you could share the factors about the difference with me Dean. I´m willing to learn and I´m willing to do the build again, I don´t mind even buying the BB Roar Ege again just to make it properly again. For sure it fulfills it´s purpose, it made me amke mistakes and learning of this mistakes. But what do you mean by using the tunnel vision? I don´t understand this one. Sorry for that. Micha

Thank you for that Bob, looks like we both had the ssame issues to understand the plans. Unfortunately for me I did not understand mine well. I notice right now even a mistake I made on my Roar Ege. Your planking looks idfferent to mine. Different manufacturer, I get that, but the ship should look somehow equal and mine doesn´t, I think that is a reason why I had so much tension on the planks, because I did it worng and let all planks end at the same point instead of going up on bow and stern. Thank you for pointing this out to me and leading me in the right way. Mine is done, therefore I try to make th best out of it. Looking forward to your progress. Micha

I surely will do Glen. It was a pleasure to look at and follow Micha

I have to say, the build looks easier than the Billing Boats "Roar Ege". Maybe I should have tried this one instead. But I stick to my Skuldelev, I started it so I will finish it. But it looks good and I know the rest of the build will be just entertaining and fun. We will miss the two little ones, hope they find their way back home. Micha