yvesvidal

Augie, you may have made the same mistake than Chuck did: We need two blocks on the deck near the wheel, to bring the tiller line to a level where it can be jumped over easily. Same goes for the rear part near the tiller: The use of the rear canons is almost impossible with these lines in the middle. Yves

Fantastic Work. That tiller could almost function like the real one... Yves

Popjack, Go for the Syren. It is a beautiful kit, extremely well done and the practicum/instructions are by far the best you will ever find in a commercial kit. You can actually download these instructions from the Model Expo web site, under the Syren page. By the way, the vessel once finished is a little marvel. Just take your time to do it and remember that Model Expo will provide you with spare parts if you goof at one point or another. Yves

Folks, I was wondering if there is a place in this forum where we have a list of existing kits organized by scale. For instance, if you were modelling in the scale of 1/32, you could find quickly all the kits available in this scale. I know most people model or build a certain type of ship regardless of the scale. However, there may be certain people who want to build all their ships at the same scale, and such a list would help tremendously. For instance, if I wanted to find the Mayflower at the 1/64th scale, would Artesania Latina be the only manufacturer of such kit? Yves

Folks, For those who wants to know a little bit more about the Model Shipways factory and their models, I just finished posting a review at: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1523-a-visit-to-model-expo-in-hollywood-florida/ Yves

Wow!!! Stunning. Marvelous model. Congratulations. Yves

Ulises, You cannot get these kits in the USA. Your only option would be to have a friend in Europe buying the weekly installments and sending you the various sets on a regular basis. The end result would be very expensive, due to the price of the installments and the additional shipping charges (assuming nothing gets lost). Sometimes, these kits after having been distributed on a weekly basis, end up as a final kit offering. Amati has already done that and it may happen again with DeAgostini. It is sad that newsstands and magazines are almost completely gone from the US market with the exception of Subscriptions. Yves

Carlos, Que bueno modelo. Esta muy bonito. Me gusta mucho! Yves

Jack, this is beautiful. You guys, Italians, British and Germans are so lucky to have these kits distributed on a weekly basis. They offer a lot of nice kits which are unavailable anywhere else. This cross-section seems to be of a nice size. I like it as most cross-section kits are always too small. Excellent choice with your vegetable oil too. Hey after all, Italians have one of the best olive oil on the planet. Please keep updating this Build Log as it is very interesting. Ciao. Yves

Norman, I share your frustration and have a hard time accepting that so much knowledge and efforts disappeared completely. I hope and pray that the MSW #2 is now fully backed up on a regular basis and that the mishap that took place will never happen again. Instead of restarting your Log, why not start a new one (with a Bismarck kit) or just place some of the beautiful pictures of your Trumpeter Arizona in the Kit Gallery? I remember reading your Blog on the Arizona and it really deserve a place in the Gallery. So, make us all happy and post some pictures of your big marvel. Cheers. Yves

Don, I would not recommend building the bunks outside of the ship and then trying to make them fit. These structures are intimately embedded into the hul, and should be built directly inside it. You may build additional pieces of furniture or details and add them later, but the bunks are part of the ceilings and must be built upfront with the hull. The transom is poorly explained or depicted on the plan and I would use pictures from previous Builds/Logs to figure out the details. Yves

Ken, This is wonderful. We are all excited at the prospect of you starting the building of that beautiful kit. We will be following closely. With such a nice dog to help you, it should be a success as long as she does not play with the lines. Yves

Before the fall of MSW, in the old world (pre-December 2012), there was a couple of gentlemen who had actually started a Build Log of the latest 1/200 Bismarck by Trumpeter. What happened with these? Have they been discouraged by the loss of data ? I would love to read about this fabulous model. Yves

Garry, When I get back to it, I am planning to plank most of the hull with the exception of the part next to the well. Basically, something identical to what the Model Shipways box cover pictures. For the deck, I will plank most of it, with the exception of the area right above the side of the well and some section above the bunk rooms. My work and assembly is not nice enough to be left visible in a non-planked version. Besides, I want to convey the nice lines of the craft and planking is essential on a boat. I hope you can start your kit very soon, and join us on the forum. Yves

Gorgeous kit, fantastic instructions and great price! Make sure you ask for the reworked Carronades to be included in your kit. Yves

Final pictures for a little while, of this project. Details of the bow and the bowsprit holder: and an overall view: Hasta la vista. Yves

Here are the promised pictures. Both covering boards are placed carefully and secured locally (bow and stern) with a dab of CA glue. Then white glue is spread carefully between frames, covering boards and clamps, to make a very sturdy and solid assembly. Detail of the bow showing how the king plank helps position exactly the two covering boards: As indicated before, the frames have been sanded and faired, and stained in their visible section with Micro-Mark alcohol based brown stain: Finally, a close-up on the stern, showing the planking: That concludes Step 12 of the Stage 1 of the construction. I may stop here for a while as I have other (unrelated to ship models) projects to tackle and finish (electronic designs, home repairs and improvements....etc). It may be weeks, but that should allow the other Emma Berry participants to catch up and pass me. Thanks for your attention. Yves

In MSW incarnation #1, there was a few threads about the work of Master modeler Chris Watton and some upcoming kits that he was designing for Amati. I was wondering if there is anything new in that direction. I remember very vividly two gorgeous models in preparation for Amati: 1) The Bellona (unfortunately at the scale of 1/72 - I wish it would be available at 1/64th)) 2) The HMS Victory at 1/64th, using a new technique based on MDF for the building of the hull and inner decks. Could anybody shed some light on these two kits? And then of course, there was also the Revenge: Thanks in advance. Yves

Quick update for tonight. Pictures will come later. I have started assembling the covering boards which are the foundation plates for the bulwarks. The two halves are assembled using CA glue. It will be necessary to fine tune the cut at the stern so as to be as close as possible to the shape of the transom. Before gluing the covering boards, it is imperative to: 1) Fair the hull as much as possible. The part located near the deck must be as smooth as possible as it will be tricky to fair the hull when the covering boards are installed. Most likely they will get damaged in the process. 2) Smooth the deck beams, carlings and knees and make sure that the convex shape of the deck (port to starboard) is finely obtained and to your liking. 3) Have the king plank in place and the mast and bowsprit pawl-bit inserted to verify the proper alignment of the plank. When satisfied, the covering boards can be glued. I decide to glue them one at a time using CA glue in a couple of points to position them and later on soaking the boards, knees and clamps with white glue that will be absorbed by the wood for a stronger bond. When gluing the covering boards, make sure that the outside edge of the stanchion holes are flush with the outside edge of the frames. The covering boards are left like this, until the hull is fully planked and the bulwarks built up. Later on, they will be sanded flush. Some of the stanchion holes are conflicting with the frames and we will deal with those on a case by case. It is expected. This completes the so called "STAGE 1" of the Model Shipways booklet. Yves

From now on, I am slightly diverging from the Model Shipways instructions. We are now at the stage where the covering boards must be installed (Step 12 of Phase 1 in the instruction booklet). These covering boards must be glued together (front and rear). When secured, they must be installed on each side of the boat. I am not sure how this can be done without glueing the Kingplank first. As a matter of fact, both covering boards are resting at the tip of the bow, on the special cut of the kingplank. Therefore, I decided to install the kingplank, before moving to any covering boards installation. In the previous steps, we had prepared the main mast and the bowsprit holder. These two parts will be necessary to position perfectly the kingplank. Before glueing it, the kingplank will be scribed as if there was a main plank in the middle and one smaller plank on each side (size is identical to the strips used to plank the remainder of the deck). It may be necessary to soak in warm water the kingplank, which must be bent quite a lot, to embrace the curvature of the front deck. Prior to this (and it could be done afterwards), I have faired the hull entirely. Then the visible (through the opening I am planning to leave) frames have been stained with a brown alcohol based color (Micro Mark and also available from a Canadian reseller). It is of utmost importance to fair the hull before glueing the covering boards as these are slightly wider than the hull and will be sanded at the end after the hull has been fully planked. If you try to fair the hull, after having glued the covering boards, you may damage these delicate boards inadvertently. See you soon. Yves

Thank you Craig. You may actually catch up with me at some time, as I am not very fast and have no more than 15 to 20 minutes per day to dedicate to this build. Anyway, I finished the stern and here is again a full picture of the craft showing the intricacies of the beams and carlings. Quite beautiful, I must say (Hey, it is okay to be happy and proud of what we are doing....): A close up on the stern. The rudder axle box has been completed and sanded flush with the rest of the deck: Although, the plan does not mention anything about it (or I could not find it), the inside of the transom is planked on the real boat. Therefore, we are going to plank it as well. I am leaving a small gap between the last deck beam and the planking to insert the little strips that will be used to plank the deck: The transom planks have been soaked in warm water to ease their bending. The central pins are pushing upwards, whereas the side pins are giving some curvatures to the planks. We are almost finished: A little clean up of the excess of white glue in the groove seems like a good idea, before it dries. The outside part of the transom will be planked as well, as is the real boat. This will be for a next and upcoming installment of our Emma C Berry saga in ten zillions parts. Yves

Way to go Trip. Yves

Craig, Welcome to the world of Emma C Berry. It is actually exciting and stimulating to have currently three persons building the same ship: Don Farr, yourself and me. There may be others, but they did not make it public yet. It is true that the building of the frames must be made carefully. Assemble each frame independently, and glue the floor every time one frame has it. Then use the jig to position each frame one at a time, starting from the bow all the way to the stern. The installation of the clamps change the picture completely, and your hull will become suddenly very stiff and solid. Cheers. Yves

Ben, I understand and agree with you. I was just wishing and thinking out loud..... Yves

Ben, I wish that when Chuck is done with enhancing his home, he finds the time to produce a small series of add-on accessories for his kits distributed by Model Shipways. The list of parts that needs to be replaced grows with each kit produced: - Carronades for the Syren (although, MS did an effrot by providing free replacements for the ugly appendices that came with the kit). - Figure head for the Syren - Figure head for Confederacy - Stern decorations for Confederacy - Cannons for Confederacy (turned and in brass) - Plans for Confederacy rigging - Kit for Confederacy rigging ...etc A small business of retrofitting parts could actually be created without hurting Model Expo in any ways and would contribute to turn these kits into masterpieces. Yves