popeye the sailor

thanks gents.......one more cut out ....three more to go. I'll have to see how the bulwarks are arranged as far as height goes......some of the bulkheads have no slots at the keel end. I may also trace out and cut another keel, in case there's a problem >evil grin< sure J........the list doesn't have any quantity though. I think this is the wood your talking about I think this is pine......lovely grain. I think I'll use it for the deck of the Progress....unstained and sealed, I think it will look really nice. see those parts to the right in the second picture.......feels like leather or textured plastic? they are for the cabin roof and the skylight.......probably won't use it either. here is the parts list in the booklet: just so you don't need to squint........ I was going to mention last night that I sent a PM {on the ETSY site} to Kal, the person that was selling the kit. I let him know what's going on........it was of no fault of his......and that I expected to see some anomaly with the kit. I asked him the age of the kit.......earlier he mentioned that it had been in his family for a long time. his mother used to work at a shop and she bought it for the father about 50 years ago. it remained untouched all this time. he didn't mention, but I sense that one or both of his parents has passed on. I let him know what I was doing....he's still gonna get a five star review from me. I can't complain........old kits like this are a 50 / 50 kind of thing........good kit / bad kit. I've had such good luck with these kits in the past.......sad not to try and resurrect this one. well....as of a couple of moments ago, all ten bulkheads are cut out. I still need to clean them up. I will trace out the keel and use it instead of the one supplied........might as well work with all fresh wood

I was under the impression that they were used as a form of braking ie.....air brake, dive brake. in the model of the Memphis Belle, there is more detail to them....brackets and such. there is nothing for this model however, although there is molded detail. they are cemented in the retracted position.....can't do much about it now.

old news....seen the bio

impressive job! the Padre will be pleased

hey there........I see you found the hanger alright love a good biplane build!

very nice start Craig........I love big birds.

I have more progress to report on the Wulfe Hound. I did a little paint and some assembly.....mainly the wings. first was to assemble the aileron halves together for the wings and stabilizer. no sense keeping them apart any longer. then to paint the deice panels......on the top halves, I think I used the wrong paint.........or the black had not cured enough and became solvent. in any case, I need to fix it. the nacelle cowls were a bit pesky too...I tried to do the two color paint, and apparently, the white ensign paint would rather be airbrushed....came out a bit ghostly. the bottom halves came out alright, but some bleed did occur. thinner did help in removing most of the problem. I also added the landing gear, which will be in the down position, as if it's taking off {flaps up} don't know what those two slots are between the nacelles...nothing seems to go there.. there more to be painted yet. I did this yesterday.....today, I decided to assemble the wings. the ailerons were cemented in place.....I won't have them movable. on the Nine o Nine, they keep dropping like the plane's gonna nose dive....not very appealing first one done...... the ailerons have that faded coloration........you can see what I mean about the cowls. the second one, shown on the belly side, shows the flap in the up position. in the down position, they would put drag on the wings, slowing the plane down for a landing. other than the cowl ghosting, I like how they came out. as mentioned.....still more to be done on the wings. I'm dying to decal them

at the stern, the planks will meet on top of the keel stem. usually, Billing will supply rabbits for the stems....surprised that there aren't any for the bow, in this case. to make it easier to plank, Billings supplies a curved piece that would fit over the stern area. it would likely end where you inserted the balsa, but leaving enough of a bulkhead lip, that the planking can terminate on it. it is possible that you can scratch make one of these parts. for an example of this.....here is what I did on my build of the Progress. very easy to make:

offer is still good anytime.....if you need something check with me and I'll take a look

popping in for a looky too.........she is looking swell......very nice job thus far

none what so ever.......although that thin grainy looking stuff might be pine. if you'd like to go along with some narrower planking, let me know. I think I have enough to share

hmmmmm, I think women were bad luck on these ships. captain's choice though

1867 is a long ways off from 1807 / 1808. keep in mind that the southern states were still active in the keeping of slaves even during the war. I'm sure there is some convoluted information out there....wouldn't be the internet we know and love without it even on paper.......can't believe everything you read. I know J posted pictures of the instructions...I hope you can read it this is a small booklet tha came with the kit. here is the complete building text...... that's it folks........not much to go on, although it does give some of the part numbers.....especially the wood strips. I should look to see if I can find a chart relating to dowel diameter...so far I only know of fractional diameters. here is the two sided sheet with the side profiles, layouts, and assembly suggestions. I forgot the rigging diagram too.........it gives the appearance that there confusion between a brig and a schooner. there are at least three different configurations that would suit this vessel....and as Lou pointed out, a Ketch. the planking diagram suggests........what your seeing here is double planking above the waterline. if I were to do that, I'd use thin strip.....narrower than what is supplied in the kit. there's a small bundle of 5 mm, a larger bundle of 10 mm, and an equal bundle of thin strip that is 8 mm { looks like pine but can't be sure}. I have other stuff on hand the lines at the bottom are the lengths for the masts and yards. there is a diagram for a capstan......but I think a windlass would be more appropriate.......what is that thing off to the bottom right? not real keen on the tops either, since they are die cut on the plywood sheet, along with the channels. as said.........I'll sweat over the hull and then scratch build the rest. the bulkhead replacements continues........I now have 6 out of the 10 bulkheads cut. a couple of them, I had to peel off the affected layer and re-laminate it with 1/16......1/32 would have been a better choice, but I'm using what I have on hand. as can be seen on the front side of the big sheet, the frame is going to be flimsy. it will need to be a bit more stable for the faring process. so the bulkheads were spot glued to the new plywood, which I had cut into wide strips. once it has set long enough, I will cut them out.......the glue if not totally dried, should release rather easily. number 7 and nine had to be re-laminated to do the cutting process properly.......here's #9 it will be clamped so it will be flat and level. then I'll trim it and it will be ready for the cloning

I've got something.........some of the strips are warped. I have some narrower stuff on hand...likely just use it instead. I was going to try the coping saw too.......with what I experienced, I thought better of it.

"who's on first?" yes OC.....you knocked one out of the park! the figure looks super

here we are........I'll bet your syked to see this one built there is a thread....I think back in 2016 that asks about Steingraeber kits.......I think the gentleman had another vessel he was building. I think the blonde plywood will be a plus for you......and using a band saw might even be a better choice of weapon. some of my planking is a bit warped........and I can't understand why it's so wide. I would think narrower strips would define the contours better. I wish you good luck with the build.......I know I'm gonna need it. ......not for the faint of heart.......you weren't kidding about the instructions

hello everyone welcome to the log that looks like a kit, but builds like a scratch build personally, I think they packed too much fun in this box hey......but we'll get through this and then it may flow a bit better. as an update to my idea....it looks like it's gonna work. it will take some extra time and effort, but I think it will be worth it in the end. thanks John........see, I told you I'd get back to wooden ships I write this log as an example of the folks we have here........how we care about one another. I saw the kit........I thought of J......and here we are. I believe that's 'soaps' J in 'the Days of our Lives', we enter 'The Secret Storm', so we can add another to 'All my Children' {I was careful J....I didn't mention 'The Wonder Years'}. we discussed the links......I will add yours to mine.......there....we will be blood brothers {as long as we don't slip with the x Actor}. as mentioned, you have the blonde plywood, which suggests to me that your kit is a bit younger...there's no dating on the box that I've seen thus far. doing this in the direction I'm having to go might spawn twins ........the Clotilda might be a result after all Tom and Ed....hello and welcome to the log right Mark.......slaving ran until 1867....of course it's not to say that a trickle of 'Human Trafficking' didn't carry on afterwards {as we've seen in today's world}. keen to remember that some slaves were assembled to form army units during the conflict. sadly, they were used as decoys and front row forces. there have been a few books and movies on the subject. it really didn't start to lose it's appeal, when the British {and I believe the French} made it illegal in 1807.....we followed a year later. yes Lou......they found it to be more lucrative than hauling goods, especially when the markets were low. at the high point in the slaving trade, the more boisterous ones were even using 'tramp' steamers to import slaves. I did find that the Captains sacrificed a lot of weight, for the ability to carry more slaves, countering their losses along the way. most were alone, without a crew until they got to their destination. there they picked up the slaves, provisions, and a large enough crew to defend the ship, the duties involved, and discourage any uprisings by the slaves. there were a few of these....the incident on The Meermin for instance. I got busy yesterday and didn't get much further.......so far, I have three or four cut out. I will get more done today

can you remove the toothpicks and slide the gears in place? can you disassemble and then reassemble using glue {on the non movable parts}? did ya hear about the new movie coming out? it's called The Great Train Rubbery ba da boom, ba da bing! ya gotta laugh when things happen.........this will have to do,'cuz I can't tickle ya with a feather

many died on the trip.......alarming to know that if a ship encountered a storm, if they lost the 'cargo', they'd still get paid. if they came in with half, it was considered a good haul.

my condolences good buddy

welcome to the log Tom and Mike

oh......and have fun I'm beginning to Chris. the kit is old.......I get that.........but the plywood is showing it's age. I cut out the keel yesterday afternoon and the face down layer of whatever this wood is took a beating! in the beginning, I thought that it is the new scroll saw I got for Christmas........perhaps it needs to be set up in some way. going through the manual, and then looking at the saw, I noted that I'm using a rough cut blade, likely ten teeth per inch. my old scroll saw used the 3 inch blades.......this one uses the 5 inch blades......a lot more common, and I can get 'em anywhere. I have a pack from Harbor freight.....6 pack.....6 different tooth count. I also noticed that the bottom blade holder was offset, so I corrected it and now using a finer thinner blade. this didn't make a difference.........chunks of the bottom layer was being torn off. splintering and missing chunks along the rises of the keel a huge chunk was taken out of the bow just above the turn........I found it and glued it back on. the other parts I've done so far though, I haven't been so lucky. my original thought was to allow it to happen........I have some mahogany strips.......I'll simply patch them up. here's a piece of scrap cast off......... what it's doing to the parts...........OH my! I said the heck with it, and started to remove the damaged layer. as you can see.........it's very easy to do. at this point, I was going to stay the coarse, peel it off, and cement them to some 1/16 basswood, later to be cut out with my box cutter. but I have another idea. I'll glue them to some 1/8 plywood I have on hand and then cut them out, separating them later. three dots of glue......let 'em set.........and then see how it goes. I'll clean them up after I get the rest cut.........so far, I've only lost one bulkhead....but after I cut out the replacement as I told J..........while it would have been good to wait till I have all this done, I would start the log now, so that anyone with an older kit in their closet, would benefit from this. plastic kits have an advantage concerning this......other than brittle plastic, that's about it. wood on the other hand is susceptible to humidity and temperature. hard to say how this kit was stored. gotta take Gibbs out now.......but I will continue cutting the bulkheads out after. another thing I've been thinking of is the thought that this frame is going to be really flimsy.......have to try and stabilize it in some way for the faring process. more on it later

welcome to the log gents.......I have a bit more to show in the beginning follies. it's going to be an interesting start.....I can tell ya! I'll show ya why in a moment. I'm already off the streets Lou..........as far as I know, Steingraeber is no longer in production. it appears that they discontinued the model manufacturing, and became a hobby shop Home • Steingraeber models • The specialist for historical ship model making I'm guessing the kit is around 40 years old. if you'd like to join in on this little venture, here's where you can find a kit OOP vintage plastic and wood boat model kits for sale Gasoline Alley Antiques they are in Seattle....probably a short jaunt from your house you have the same idea as I do.......once the hull is planked, it will tell us more the rigging even has that brig look. just looking at the box............. I wish I had book marked the article....never mind, I found it Illegal Slave Trade - The Abolition of The Slave Trade they do mention the types of ships used, but the Wiki has a list of known ships Slave ship - Wikipedia Baltimore Clipper - Wikipedia would a couple of gun ports be going too far?

the kit is old........it is not laser cut, but on the 3/16 sheets, there are die cut impressions of the parts. they need to be cut out. I have seen other kits of this model......in later kits, they used a light colored plywood. in the kit I bought however, the plywood is three layers......a light colored wood sandwiched between two layers of what looks like mahogany. I ran into this with the Nordkap kits.......the first one supplied lighter colored woods, while the kit I'm using to build the Progress, was mostly mahogany {planking and parts sheets}. in both instances, the bulkheads were already cut out, which leads me to believe that Billings precut them. there is a thinner sheet that has the deck platform, trailing boards and various parts not related to the hull aspects. there are five different sizes of thread {rope}, a good number of different size dowels, smaller wood parts, and planking bound with tape {which I can't stand}....those ugly marks. it comes with sail cloth, but no diagrams to work with....one wooden boat and a couple of smaller blocks imprinted with other parts. like someone let their kid loose with a price marker, the numbers of the parts are scattered everywhere....some parts will need to be renumbered so I don't lose track. the hardware is so so.....the anchors look good, but will need rework due to age.........the blocks are metal and out of scale .......the dead eyes, I haven't checked to see if they are plastic or wood {they can be replaced if needed}. the brads are rusty......two sizes, short ones and a bunch I can use as regular pins. the eye bolts are out of scale, as well as being the screw in type. scrying the crystal ball........I see a lot of scratch building in my future. you can barely see the die cut marks, but they are there...not sure how deep they are. to better see them, I traced all the parts impressions with a mechanical pencil. some of these parts......forget it.......the tops would be too thick and the boom and gaff yokes would be a joke. as I mentioned, scratch building will be the rule here. the last included is the thinner sheet with the deck platform and such. they were practically falling out of the sheet, so I took 'em out.

the flying fickle finger of fate has struck again......why it chose us, I have no idea. there is a short story that starts this log off...and here is the skinny. I was browsing around the net looking at off the wall hobby shops...just a search, point and shoot kind of thing. I'm always looking for that model that I've not seen in years. I was browsing through an Antique store in central Washington state. running down a list of kits this Antique store had, I happened on the name Agilis. it made me sit back and think........who had this model in their signature? after batting it around for a time, it came to me who it was .......JCT {hope I spelt your tag right J......I'm working without a net}. $100.00.........not sure about the shipping, I mentioned in a PM I sent him, along with a picture of the kit. I hadn't seen J or any of his projects for some time.......I wonder what he was up to. to sum up his activities...........he's been fishing with his guitar, while watching the tube it was nice to rattle his cage { I take full blame J}. his reply came....he already has a kit.......he was waiting for someone to start a build log on the model, so he could use it for when he decided to start his. he said the instructions were so vague, they'd give Billing's a run for their money! naturally, this got my gears turning........the finger stopped, pointing at me. I suggested getting the kit and possibly starting a log.........this began the conversation. doing a joint group build was suggested, but shot down in fear of confusion. as our conversation continued, I set to work on ordering the kit. not seeing any way to order it, I placed a call to the shop......but.........while that was in progress I was still browsing around. going through a number of black holes, I ended up at the ETSY site, and a gentleman who lives in Florida, was selling it for $49.00 with free shipping. with ten minutes, I had the kit ordered and a reply from the seller! this also started another conversation, since I'm so chatty......he'd have in the mail the next day. true to his word........I got notification that it had been shipped.......that was Thursday. I received it on Monday. meanwhile.........a call came from the Antique shop and I let her down gently, I assure you meanwhile, the conversations with the seller wound down.....he'd like to see pictures of the finished ship....I directed him here....or he can give me his email addy. the conversation continues to this moment with J.......the plot is beginning to thicken. my searches isn't bringing up any info on this ship........and neither is his. likely, this is a fictitious ship. Steingraeber describes this as a clipper....to me it doesn't....it looks more like a privateer or a brig. the last ship that was involved and subsequently "arrested" was called the Clotilda....this was in 1867.......over fifty years after slavery was deemed illegal. later I read that the Clotilda was run aground near Mobile Alabama and set on fire to destroy the evidence. there are a number of ships that this kit could have resembled, but we decided to keep the name Agilis. oh.......the reason behind my mentioning the Clotilda, is that she was a schooner. J suggested that this might be a Baltimore Clipper.....looking it up, I am inclined to agree with him...it confirms both our suspicions. Baltimore Clipper - Wikipedia the one thing that might set it apart......and why I would mention a brig, is the number of yards the model has......still feel it's odd, likely can be rigged as a cutter, or even a schooner. J is right though.....the instructions are not for the faint of heart foot note: I'll be building this model along with J. we will be doing it as sort of a group build, but without combining the log and confusing anyone. I'm very pleased to be working along side him........I'm sure that there something we can share