JLuebbert

Thanks for starting this, Hamilton. I pulled out my plans after our earlier conversation and have started making notes. I look forward to seeing the rest of your build.

Beautiful and inspiring, Andy. Great job!

Hi Casey, I would definitely use an air brush. You won't have to worry about the uniformity of the paint. The coat will be nice and smooth giving the hull a cleaner look. That's my 2 cents. : ) John

Beautiful! Great job.

Wonderful job, Dan. My thoughts go out to your friends father. I imagine he's looking down now and saying "THAT'S how it looked in my head! Thanks buddy!"

Terrific job, Sam! Seeing this has been great motivation to free up time to work on my own Enterprise. I always look forward to my email notifications that you, Bindy and many others have made progress.

Hi Keith, I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. My thoughts go out to both your family and his. John

Good job, Scott!

Hi Scott- Since you are double planking her will you have enough sapelly to plank all the way up or will you switch wood at the bulwarks? Our kits, as opposed to the newer version, have the bulwarks planked with the ayous. Just curious as I've decided on the double planking myself.

She's coming along nicely, buddy!

Well Happy Birthday this Sunday, Sam! I woke up this morning and thought "Crap. It really happened. I'm 50. I don't feel 50. Of course I don't know what 50 is supposed to feel like." It was quite a lengthy dialogue in my head. The build slowed down this past week and I'll be working tomorrow. I will be playing my "birthday card" and telling my wife that it's my birthday weekend and I really should be working on my Enterprise all day Sunday.

Great idea, Sam. Thanks! Thanks for the kind words Brian. I look forward to seeing you continue with your Enterprise. You fellow Enterprise builders have no idea how much I rely on your builds. I usually have all of them opened on different tabs and bounce from one to the other when I'm in question about something. I used a fine felt pen for the caulking. It bled a lot and that initially made me stall. I then placed some furniture on the deck and imagined the masts and rigging in place and decided to move forward. As far as the door goes, it was really simple. This version of the kit uses 0.5x50x110 sheet sapelly for the face of the captains cabin. I made a template by tracing the metal door on this sheet and cutting it out. I then used Sam's (SRC) basic door layout as a guide. I didn't try to recreate the hinges as he did. That's a little beyond me at the moment. I can cut small pieces of wood to size like a champ though. : ) I feel like a kid again whenever I open the box. I smell the wood and it's exciting again to be building something. Anybody else feel this way? Of course, I'll be 50 this Friday. I may be just losing it.

Hey Sam, No. It doesn't. I'll happily order a second layer if this first planking is less than adequate. Stay tuned!

Hi Sam- Thanks so much for the input. Being the rookie that I am the thought never crossed my mind to check the grain. : P The ammonia hasn't affected the color so far and I've had pieces soaking up to two days. I've read and printed the basic planking located in the forums and do refer to it often. You mentioned my garboard plank. This is an area that I was concerned about. I had started planking my above mentioned Santa Maria a while back and made that mistake. I had hoped I was situated better but will definitely take better pictures and ask for more feedback before I move forward. John

Hi Sam, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Keep building. My wife and I lost three furry friends within 6 months last year. Being able to lose myself in my hobby really helped at times. Your ship is looking great. It's great to see a build like yours as it is helping me at looking down the road with mine. John

The first pic is another of the finished captains cabin entrance. I used the undersized ceiling block but built it upslightly, planked the top and added trim. The other two pics are the first few planks. As I previously mentioned this has been difficult with the rather brittle wood. The patience I have learned since I started this project is paying off. SLOW is ok.

That's a good idea, Rich. I'll do that. Hi Muzzlehead- (Love the moniker!) Do you have the older version too? If so I can't recommend it enough to follow the other fellows that are building this ship. The scuppers weren't covered very well. I ended up purchasing some mahogany strips to create them. There are other aspects that they address as well that'll help immensely. Another issue I'm encountering is that the sapelly used for the hull planking is very thick (and old!). I've had to be very careful as it tends to snap no matter how long I soak it. Which brings up a question- the friend that got me started directed me to soak the wood in ammonia which I am still currently doing. I haven't seen this in any other build. Is this necessary or harmful to the wood? I've got some pictures that I'll be posting shortly.

Thanks Rich. Brothers in arms!

In hindsight I wish I had used a different type of wood so the door would stand out a little better.

This was the new starting point. I began with something easy - the captains cabin. Referring to the other builds I noticed that the block was too short. The door supplied wouldn't fit! I decided to add some height and finish it off properly. I had originally intended to simply build the ship straight from the box but after viewing SRC's new door that idea went out the window.

Here she is in all her boxed glory. Once again, I'm so thankful to the other Enterprise builds. This one didn't come with a full color step by step book and the instructions are very cryptic (for a beginner). It has only been through studying the other builds that I've been able to move forward.

Hi gang- I'd like to first say that I've really come to appreciate this community. I've followed so many builds and have enjoyed the highs and commiserated on the lows. The biggest thing that has stood out to me is the support for each other whether it's the completion of a build, a birthday, an illness or the passing of a loved one, this community has each others back. Ok. Enough of the sappy stuff.... My name is John. I'm a Realtor out of Sacramento California. There's a lot of "hurry up and slow down" to my job thus I'm able to troll the forums everyday. I've always loved life in miniature having started out building plastic models and painting 28mm pewter miniatures most of my life. A good friend of mine introduced me to wooden ship models back in 2005. I ran out and purchased the Enterprise. (As I'm a Star Trek kinda guy it just made sense.) The word "intermediate" didn't even register as I had built so many models. My ego wouldn't allow that I should start out with something easier. : P I impatiently rushed through the initial stages and stopped. Planking was next and I didn't understand how it was going to possibly lay at the stern. So I started Amati's Santa Maria. And stopped at the planking. So I started the Holstein Yacht which is almost done but still has rigging that needs to be finished. (Notice any patterns?) Which brings us to the present. With the discovery of Model Ship World and the talents of SRC, Probablynot and Archicar, I've dusted off this old brig and have continued with the build having accepted the fact that this won't be a museum piece and that's OK. : ) My best to all of you!

Hi Ships88, I remember your build and would love to see it again.