popeye the sailor

sweet looking model Jens..........superb job on sails and rigging!

very nice progress is that the Revell Cutty on the sill?

thanks for the kind comments and to those who are following along. the hull is officially planked!........hull wise, that is the other side gave me just about as much trouble.........the sanding was fairly tough....not sure how much I took off. I had done some of the sanding on the starboard side, but I went over it again to see if I couldn't get out more of the imperfections. still a bit more I need to do. I am happy to report that I've used little filler so far........I may need to use it on the harder areas though. thanks J.....your still further along than I am ......but that's OK! it'll give me a build log to follow welcome to the log Robert....I hope you enjoy following along. I believe the word is sweet OC.........I did enough of that sanding the hull .........changed my shirt once or twice thanks Ed....most of the log will be devoted to the first hull. I'd start a log on the second hull, but I don't have a definite name for her. so, for the time being, I'll post a few pictures of the second hull just to give you an idea if where I am with it. I've done some faring of the frame so far.......not very prolific.......but I did add the bow bulkhead on her today. I will need to trim the posts some for being too tall. it's almost ready for planking, and for her, I will use some of the supplied planking.....when I get to the tighter contours, I'll resort to the narrower planking. it worked out quite well. here is one picture of the bow bulkhead. it's still in the planning stage. as mentioned, the sanding was extensive........it was good to have used 1.8 mm planking......gives me more to sand. the shot of the starboard side.....with a little more sanding. not too much here......minimal the port side.......there's one area of the bow that still looks too thick. I didn't bevel the planks enough I guess. when looking at the stern, a few areas become visible.......the curvature of the stern and under both sides of the counter. I did add a stern strip, to tidy it up some and enable me to cut a better looking hole for the rudder. I shoulda got a picture of the outer surface of the transom......it's shaped and sanded as well. the deck area looks pretty good.....still got the gaps, but with planking they will be covered over. ...and of course, a view of the bow the next step will be to do more refinement of the hull, and to do a tracing of the bulwarks for the cap rails.

I see Murphy paid you a visit........ good that you got things sorted are there instructions to motorize the model? I know there are some out there that can be done. on some of the earlier kits, they supplied the instructions and some of the parts, but did not include the motor......kinda stupid if ya ask me. nice progress so far though........look'in very good

I was always under the impression that Airfix kits were good. build a Lindberg kit and compare. I can see why your replacing the props........

I get that problem out in the garage. to combat it, I run a number of fans.........try to get'em before they get too close

there's a thought.........will we see a clone?

very impressive ...........you've done a spectacular job with this project. .......took you .......what, 20 years to bring 'er back out.....and look what a splendid model! kudos!

the pilots came out great Lou! you might want to bend the foot pedals up ....right side do them evenly, and the other to match the pilots feet {don't necessarily need to be touching}....it might add a tiny bit more detail.

outside of that one rocket rack, you wouldn't even know she hit the floor........ looking splendid! nicely detailed and all!

joining in on the fun Jack..........you've picked a really neat project off to a very good start!

hey there all!...........planking has continued the port side is almost closed up. there will be a break in the action though, as we need to go to our oldest son's house for babysitting duties. * started to write this...this morning.......the babysitting job is done. had a great time with the two younger rug rats.....Ford has turned into a total chatterbox, and Ari......well he don't talk, but he's a pretty active monkey couple of things...I really shoulda tapered more......the bow could have benefited with a few....and I think I was too late with the stern.......but I do have a second stab at it I will guarantee that the second will not come out like the first...they never do, given the fact that I've done the two hull thing before. I have a project in the wings that would prove my theory, but another obscure project has caught my eye, and seeing that I have the perfect hull to do it to......it got bumped back. {now that I mention it.......it gave me an idea to try}. anyway......the planking was stubborn and wanted to lift off the bulkheads.....kept having to reset them. it makes me thing that the bulkheads might have been a bit off too. knowing that I'm going to close the hull by trimming planks, I added the garbard plank.......leaving the keel unplanked.....I don't want to add any more thickness to it. I need to trim the bow heel a little to get the proper curvature there........even the line a little too. I did a little tapering at the bow at this point.....filling in from bow to stern. it can be seen that I've been doing some sanding as I've gone along.......can't stand to see how ugly it looks. it's true..........to all those who are just starting out....these hull look butt ugly.........they don't start looking good, until they are sanded and get some form of paint on them. don't let it deter you...... the mid ship has been filled in and all that's left is the stern area. as it closes, the hourglass look appears at the stern stem. tapering and a stealer will fix that. while this was going on, the transom was being planked over. this will all be trimmed after and sanded. the port side got more sanding to get rid of most of the plank edges. it looks like clinkering........some folks need a tutorial for this method of planking..........I'm a natural at it I think with some paint on it, the hull will look alright. I did the trimming at the bow. the transom has been trimmed and sanded.......that's taken care of. the starboard side is the next step.........I've already turned it around and applied the first plank to end all planking

hey J........the other one is gonna look like on the box......I kinda like how the model looks.

on some kits, it can be a problem placing the heads with the ladders in place...too close together. they need to be spaced apart some. super job so far....she look'in really good

look'in good J....thanks for the numbers

wow....that looks really sharp J! the two tone really makes the hull pop! I do notice though that you might have less counter at the stern than mine, and with the addition of that small front bulkhead I made up, your bow carries over the stem. these are not bad things by any stretch.........from bow stem to transom, mine is about 18 inches long. you see what I mean about the masts.......mine is going to be worse because I added the mast pots. did you assemble them using the full lengths? yea....there's around 5 inches that slide into the hull, so you'll lose some there.......but the height is out of scale. even with the finished model that we were shown, the use of the full lengths, really puts it out there. I'm no whiz with the computations, but trimming them each segment even an inch or two, might be a lot better. do some checking on this, but I believe that both masts are two segmented

your doing a super job on this one Robert.....your weathering skills have sharpened a lot she looks great.......

looking really good Greg......did you chase out all the portholes? they look nice 'n clean....very distinct.

thanks John, J, and Kevin.........thanks to all who hit the like button nothing noteworthy as of yet. I wish I could plank a hull like some of the folks here.......but then again, if the plywood I used was a bit more sandable, the frame would have shaped better. hello Kevin...welcome aboard

coming along really nice Robert!

I haven't been idle this past week.........................I've made some progress on the planking. it's a slow process........lay a couple planks and allow it to dry before adding more. close second to watching paint dry more has been done to the starboard side, than the port side. the stern again is going to be a bit of trouble......I'll have to fill in the deficit at the stem. port side still needs to catch up......I'm tapering here as I did with the starboard side in an attempt to gt the line back in shape before the counter closes. the closure is going 'herringbone' on me. I did something a bit different on the port side, cutting and trimming the plank so it would fit. later I'll drill the hole for the rudder. I've also been sanding as I went along. as of tonight, I am at this point. for some reason, the port side is not behaving like the starboard side did. it leads me to believe that I either fared too much on that side, or there are alignment issues with the bulkheads. when I plank hull #2, I will see if the extra measure I did to it makes any difference. I don't have a name for her......I may end up calling her Agilis.

the same stuff you got...that brown leathery sheet stuff.

I have a different way of making grating 'wafers' in my U.S.S. United States log.........kind of a lengthy thing......not expecting it to catch on that's what you got for grating in your kit?.......I got this small metal sheet in mine. the grates look good....... here's what I got in my kit: been sleep'in with your feet hang'in out the window again, haven't you?!?! rest up and take care

well then.........who am I to be a party pooper!

now THAT'S a sharp paint job! very nice.........and now can see the dark blue of the ball turret really nice Craig!