popeye the sailor

one of these days I want to buy a house, so I can join in your misery I miss it like you wouldn't believe! love the chair........sorry.......no alien jokes here. what.....no cup holder?

busy with the small parts......realize though that even in kits, eye bolts and some stuff are out of scale..........but we still use them the chimney could be smaller.....I'm sure your in the process of making a new one. the trials and tribulations of scratch building.......... doing a great job as usual........not sure of the mistakes your trying to cover up.........as I've forgotten already build what makes you happy!

those are delicate posts Mark........very prone to breakage. would it have been a benefit to make them a bit thicker to allow for sanding and faring? great job on the frame so far! this coming from one that is still chained to his scroll saw

the black hose does look better although.......the clear hose would have been great if the one could see the presence of air bubbles..........then they would know they need to prime the pump don't mind me........I've dealt too much with problems like that in real life she coming along nicely.......love the engine!

I looked up and book marked the site! they have quite a few unique kits.........and I only looked at the first few pages! yup........I didn't see these kits.

hello Jan you saw that I had glued the beacon glass together........that was short lived once I began mess'in with it. it came apart....that's when I read through the instructions I did have a plan though started in mind, but went with the instructions. sandwiching the two upper parts together, pins were inserted to keep them aligned. the top and bottom were painted gray. the beacon glass was then cemented around the top after it had dried..........the bottom glued in place soon after. for some reason, there was a gap where the two ends met........likely the cause for the formed glass to come apart. taking two thinner rods of metal {I don't believe they are brass...they are painted green}, they were painted gray and run through the holes that encircle the top.......gluing them along the edges of the black bottom. the assembly was then dry fitted onto the beacon deck, using the pins as guides. all of the protruding rods were snipped off, and the black bottom was painted. as for the gap, some 2 mm thin strip was painted gray and cemented into place. in hindsight, I should probably have done it with the one opposite it on the other side, to make it even and symmetrical. I still can, I suppose the plan is to keep it apart for the time being, so I can run the lighting. I ran it today and adjusted the light.......they specify the flash to be around 6 seconds apart........I have it adjusted to be a little quicker. with the lower part dry fitted together, the center tube barely comes though at the beacon deck. the circuit board is to be stuck anywhere outside of the structure via sticky tape that is on the bottom of the board.......just peel off the paper and press into place. I don't think this is going to work for me, since I have incorporated a base. for those who would use this in a layout, they need to drill a hole in the layout floor and run everything under their table. what I would prefer to do, is put the circuit board inside the structure, and run the wires through the bottom of the base.........I will have to create a grove for the wire to run along, and exit the base. I might even be able to run another light for the structure {can't do the dormers.........shucks}. it would have to have direct current, running it before the flasher circuit board. we'll see how things go until then the railing around the beacon was formed.........it still need to have rail posts added. the parts that I thought were the rafters for the dormers, are actually the posts for the railings. the posts were added and the railing assembly was painted flat black. the beacon roof was cemented together, and like the other roofs, need the wire rod treatment and a round ball on top. more on this later on. the pins will also be removed later on and I will glue guide pins where the base and beacon deck meet.

these are fun to build.......haven't built one in quite a while though. depending on how long you had them, short run kits like that become rare in a short period of time. is Ace still in business?.......are the kits dated?

''''''hmmmmm............that's still a bit traditional. most frigates and war ships have their armament low and within the hull........my plan is to add upper structures, while still maintaining the sailing ship appearance. this is why I chose a clipper hull.......give it a lower draught, and build upward.....the masts will adjusted to allow for space. cool picture.......a defense dept. secret?........the world may never know

....didn't think of it actually.....even when I was putting the black border on the bottom. of course, I haven't read further ahead in the instructions either. now that I have.........it's not that much of a question anymore. for the beacon assembly, there are three octagon parts.......one for the roof top, one for the top of the beacon, and one for the bottom. all of these parts have alignment holes, which will come in handy assembling it. I've been working on it as we speak...........next update

thanks Phil........glad you like it Lou, I see your trying to stay one step ahead of me...........right?!?!?! since you asked..............a while ago, I had this crazy idea to do a what if battle ship, but done in a sailing ship format........dunno......1800's perhaps. now I know there was the Warrior, the Alabama, the Kearsarge.......think of the set up of these vessels, in a more modern way. I know it's a stretch........the sail configuration is going to be a huge dilemma. anyway.......I had traced out the parts for the hull, using the Thermopylae parts panels........did this months ago. I finally got around to cutting them out........assembling the frame..........and faring the frame out. two last bulkheads of the stern and the smaller bulkhead at the bow {the one on the stem}, I have not done yet. I'm not decided of how the bow and stern will look. I want to use some of the Hood PE parts to build up the structures.......I already have the cannons it's still in the planning phase.........I think it will be an interesting endeavor. if it all comes down on me........I have a great start on another clipper ship I never cease to amaze me

the windows went in flawlessly! the dormer windows however was another story. after cutting the glass and cementing them in place, adding them to the roof was a feat and a half. I ended up breaking a second window in the process and had to fix two of 'em for the price of one. the repairs went well though, although one of them has a speck of 'something' on the glass. it's on the inside.........due to the fragility issue, I'm gonna leave it. think of it as a small white cat sitting in the window ..........cone on...........you know you want to along the crown of the roofs, .030 wire was cemented in place {supplied in the kit} this led to a bit of a mess.........they will be painted red. I'll touch up the roof panels while I'm at it the dormer roofs are done here. the bottoms are done here..... there is edge molding that will encircle the roof assembly.......I'll get to that next. after scoring the black apron around the beacon glass, I bent it along the scored lines that separate the panes. this led to another piece of the puzzle. now I left a thin border around the bottom to eventually cement into the beacon deck. if the beacon glass forms an octagon........how is it going to fit into the beacon deck, which is a hexagon? I submitted that question to the 'ponder department' waiting for an answer to it....................................................................

I did snap these two pictures of the window prep........the wall cemented together.........and the two sizes of window glass {cello}. the tops and bottoms of the corner moldings were sanded flush to the walls. I marked the top and bottom decks for proper orientation of the the wall {sandwich}.

decals are on........and this model is officially finished! came out rather well, in spite of the mistakes and problems I had building it. thanks to all for following along I almost lost the hood emblem too...........I thought it flipped of into the trashcan that's near my desk. I picked through it a bit..........thinking that it was a lost cause, I abandoned the search, but gave one last look around my desk. I found it under the shelf, under the right side of the desk. lucky to have found such a tiny object. when I laid the stripe decal on the hood, where the emblem goes broke out and caused a jagged mess around it. cutting tiny strips of the same color decal, I was able to box the spot in and tidy it up.

continued on with the headlights and front bumper.........almost lost one of the headlights. Gibbs was laying under my desk and I feared that it may have gotten into his fur.........it wasn't the case {thank heavens}. front markers and back up lights were added too. the upper radiator hose and a couple other parts finished it off all that's left now are the decals!

I have no pictures for what I did today on this project..........window work all the corners of the six sided structure are now painted.......next was to size the glass. the big windows were around 12 x 20.5 mm....give or take .5 mm. this marks the second time I've use the 'pick 'n place' tool......it did the job quite well. two smaller windows and the doors were around 12 x 12.75 mm....give or take.......they went in equally as well. next are the dormer windows........the one I feared broke did not come off the tape willingly......I had to repair it. I think I fixed it these windows are 8.5 square........I'll set the glass once I get them cut and fitted. hopefully I'll have some pictures for you soon thanks for look'in in..........hmmmmmm............yea, OK.......... I punned myself

that edging along the top of the tube chute? if it won't be seen........no foul I trust you didn't use that primer anywhere else the first module looks super in place!

looks great!

off to a very nice start.........the stacks and other PE additions look really good

your soldering is coming along splendidly.........looks very good the gun looks really good too..........aren't you glad it's not a smaller scale

I let the body set all night..........the next morning, the rear inner wheel wells were painted flat black and allowed to dry. the chassis was then fitted into place........had no need to cement it! there are a couple parts that need to be added to the underside.............. ....as well as a few parts that will be added to the engine compartment. the rear grille and bumper are all a single part..........the taillights were added to it. I noticed that there a re back up lights.......I painted them and will add them later. the gas cap was added too. the hood fits on there so-so.........a tiny bit warped it seems...........I think it might have something to do with the hinges. there is a strip of chrome that completes the front grille, that need to be cemented to the underside of the front lip. not sure it will help it.........but it won't hurt I was tempted to paint the upper body {the white part} with the metal flake, but didn't want to risk a repeat performance of the paint like the last time. left it as is............ the front grille and lower grille bonnet was assembled and painted some time ago. it was added to the car at this time.......the headlights and marker lights will be added once the marker lights dry it's getting to the finish line.......pretty glad about it not my best, but at least it's not a total mess.

I though I would get more done..........I did, but it was very short lived. we went to the movies to see the second chapter of 'IT'. it was good, but it didn't have the same outcome of the first one. remakes.......gotta love'em............right?!?!?! so her is what I accomplished on the 7th. the front and rear glass were cemented in place. I decided not to do the side windows due to them being rather thick, and an ill fit. since I used window maker {and cement} to install them, I had to let the body set for a while........it cures much slower than regular cement. just as I was about to cement in the interior bucket, I saw that the windshield was off and there was a gap on the driver's side. this I had to repair before continuing on. this was the first time I used the 'pick 'n place tool....the pen like tool you see on the desk. it had a sticky ball of some sort of material on the tip, and worked really good for placement of the glass. I got a set of them from Billing Boats.........now a long time ago. I miss working with Tom........he and his wife were great people {they still are!}.

I got more done before we went to the seafood festival at Hampton Beach............it was a really good time. Dorian had the water quite active still.......some really impressive breakers.......made me wish I had brought along the camera. it never got close here, but I think the cape in Mass saw more than we did. this morning I did a bit more........I'll post it after I get further. thanks for the likes

very nice Michael

I did the same Nils..........took care of the lawn stuff last week I'm on vacation this week........and to be bothered with those chores was something I wasn't going to let get in the way of a good time! I'm sure that the admiral is a happy camper right about now yes Pete.......my admiral also thinks my modeling is good.........I'm poop though if I don't take out the trash!

hello John..........so good to see how far you've come with the hull frame. she's look'in really fine...super nice contours to the outer hull. the stern looks really good too