popeye the sailor

hello John....and thanks for the good word there's a lot of planking that will slow me down a little. I've also decided to lean more towards stain than paint. I think it will make it a bit more interesting. as always, thanks to all for the likes. I would have had this posted earlier, but I got bumped off the site. I kept getting that error message. so I'm gonna hurry and get this up before anything else happens deck planking has begun.......I didn't have any oak stain, but I have a new can of Special Walnut I also have a can of Mahogany.......so the plan I have in my head is a go. I'm not sure I'll do it, but I also wanted to streak in some gray into the walnut, which I was thinking to do, even if I had oak. I'll see how the two look together. I guess the first thing to do is set up a place to stain. easy enough to do....... as I mentioned earlier, I happen to have an ample supply of the blonde .5 x 5 mm thin strip. they are about 880 mm in length. the supplied thin strip bundle is only 550 mm long. I'll use what I have, mainly because I've had it for quite some time...and not sure how long the gent who sent it to me had it for {thanks again Mark}. earlier I stated that both enlarged slots are inside the structure....no so. the forward slot is outside, and to deter any trouble from it, it was filled in. it will be sanded flush later on when dry. I marked off the structures with the intent to plank around them, but I ended up having second thoughts. last time I did it, I lost track of the staggers and blew it big time. the outside of the structures are to be planked as well, so what I did here is wrong to begin with. I set the butt stagger meter to six and marked off these lines as well. then it later dawned on me that this would result in very long planks, so I bisected all of the lines by half, marking these lines as well. now the deck looks like a lined mess the center plank was continuous, interrupted by the slots. from then outward, the staggering began. I am using an archive pen to do the calking. I stopped doing it though, since it dawned on me too that it won't be seen. I didn't do the butt staggering as well for the same reason, but I did enough so I could use it as a reference. from where you see the progress here, I continued on the starboard side, filling in aftward, as I needed to base the planking..

something one sometimes hates to do.......but if it has to be done your planking over it anyway bob...no harm no foul. not to mention how many bulwark posts there are...that would have been a complete bugger! I also see how they seem to be segmented.....is that for the gun ports? great progress Bob!

look'in super Piet

polka dot is good......

thank you OC......yea, still more to do yet. I took Sunday and today off........feels great. but I'm job hunting.....I'm done with the B.S. yesterday was spent on planking the Tumbl'in Dice.....not much on Norden. I'm working still on the stand.....not much left to do. I hope to have a update for her soon though. thanks for the good word

wish I had windows like those.......I'd be a very happy camper she's look'in great..the windows and doors came out nice as well. did you run out of black door knobs?

I could have Mike, but I think it would be harder to center the structures. alignment is very important. the good thing is that both of the enlarged slots have the deficit showing inside the structures........no windows or visibility, they will never be seen. hello Patrick.......yes I have. I was just going to experiment with some of the problems with this kit, but we all know that once something is started, it will never stop. glad to have you following along

nice work Mike.......I agree, they should look very good when in place

I knew it she's look'in great in her camo! nicely done. good silhouette of her side view......I see you have the same problem I do. with this new table I have, the built in light is directly above and shadows any side views. I miss my crane lights

...and glad to have you along as well Mark. thanks for the good word

thanks Mark and Piet.....yep! this is the mahogany I got out of the Nordkap kit. I'll order some different planking later. too beautiful a wood to be painted over! thanks for the good word gents and thanks to you folks who hit the like button as promised, I have the pictures from the fitting job. in order to fit the structures, I chose to cement the deck on to the bottom. there is a curvature in the deck that may help with the fitting. both of the structures were set up on the deck. the second level deck was dry fitted, to insure it would fit afterwards. the mis alignments ended up like this...... the fore slot for the front structure needs to be trimmed aftward. it was marked. the fore slot for the aft structure needs to be trimmed forward. it too was marked. after the cutting was done.....I discovered another small problem. the aft structure, which is a bit more complex, doesn't sit well with the curvature of the deck. the way the side walls are shaped {with the doors and the vent slots}, has some flex when pushed in place. it alters the door openings. the tab on the stern wall complicates things, so sanding the curve along the base of the structure might be tough. I'm thinking that when fully assembled, the flex might not be so prominent, and it can be cemented in place easier. it's really not that much......

funny....I looked for those pieces I know now that I have to make the cleats for the bars. you may end up doing what I did for the structures......I cut the slots for them to fit. did you dry fit the second level deck? there will be issues there to, if the structures are in the correct alignment. what did you stain the deck with?

thanks Ken........I agree.......weathered wood is not glossy. in fact, to stay with a sense of realism with ships, there is a very small window where gloss is actually OK to use. if I wasn't treating this one as a showpiece model. I'd have anti-foiled the bottom. I have a nice bundle of this wood, very pleasing to see it shine like this thanks for the good word. the deck is cemented on the bottom at the moment. both main deck structures are indeed off. after I found which holes I needed to use, I marked the deficit of the other tabs, and cut the holes to fit them. it was equally troubling to see that the second level doesn't fit quite right either. I got the planking to do now, so that will keep me busy for a little while. I do have some pictures to show.......I post 'em tomorrow thanks for look'in in and the likes

thanks Kees and John...appreciate the very kind word thanks Patrick......it's hard to glam up one of these boats, while keeping with the work boat feel. I get a lot of ideas looking at pictures of actual boats....or the one in question {if I can find it}. pick the little things you can do and go for it......and you certainly know how to do that you folks have been telling me how fast I seem to be going with this build.......you folks are right! I'm amazed.......I started this model in mid December. I'll likely be finished with her by mid March....with what I still need to do. this very well could be my quickest project yet no real progress today though, although I have been working on the stand {an effort to get that face cloth from under her}. well.......thanks for the kind words and to those who hit the like button. it's not finished yet......so more playtime is in store for her

thanks Lou.......if I had gone to Hobby Lobby, I'm sure I would have found something in the Jewelry dept, that I could have used. this worked out just as well.

hi Kevin........of course she is......but she made the hand gestures I.C.U. what's that other stones song........"under my thumb"...... she sees where I'm going with it though. after seeing how the bottom looks, she's on board with it. of course, the revelation I discovered with the mahogany planking was a good thing....to think that if I didn't actually measure the width of the planking, I might have ordered the wrong replacement size. she isn't mad at me. when I can get around to it, I'll order the replacement wood......and slip in a few items I need to finish the trawler {I wasn't going to place an order for a couple of items} it's the main reason why I stopped working on that project......but I need to get that one back on the table too. thanks for the good word........the bottom looks so much better with the second coat

thanks John.......no....that's being resourceful you'll need that skill for the project your doing now. try taking the decals off anywhere else?!?! I couldn't believe it, when I got up the next morning and saw the flags like that! if you do anything to them.....use a spray, not a brush. I noticed that CA takes the color off them too { I gotta touch them up}. I noticed the pho-par with the winch as soon as I saw the videos........the weights and the catch would jam the winch up, if it had fill bars over the rollers. it's almost finished now, and soon, I can add it to the boat. I was hoping I could still slide the net under the upper rollers, but with the way I had to assemble it, I don't think I can do that. I may try to adjust it. thanks for look'in in and the kind comment John.........I don't regard you as a novice. you lost that the day you finished the model

thanks Chris......actually, I'm still on the fence. I like the white walls...most of the ones I've seen have been painted. when I saw the mahogany planking in the Nordkap, I decided then that I would save that wood.....too decorative to paint over. I would wait and use it on a hull that would look better as natural wood, but I wasn't holding my breath. in this kit, they supply .5 x 5 mm dark walnut planking, which I thought was too dark, so I decided to use the mahogany planking.. ..which is actually 1.5 x 7 mm {not what I stated earlier}. the other mahogany planks I found mixed in are actually 1.5 x 10 mm. I have an abundance of the .5 x 5 mm blonde thin strip. I may use a walnut stain {which I have on hand}......or I'll go and get some mahogany stain, and do all the structures in stained wood. my inventory of wood is fairly large.....I could go a few different ways. decking is the same story......again, I haven't really decided yet {the reason I haven't planked anything else}....it won't be a blonde color, the river and age would have discolored it.......I'm thinking oak with a grayish quality. the decals are just a preliminary thing......showing what I'm looking at. I like the bottom one too, but looking at the dice...they look like a picture of actual dice, and not drawn or painted in appearance. the admiral had fun juggling around my combinations. the flaming dice are out...would have been nice to have multi layered flames. I do like the ones that spell out the word 'dice'...I can arch the word 'Tumbl'in' more. I'm also going to look into past builds.....one fellow had a nice bit of detail for the pilot house. it's going to more of a show piece than an actual boat. thanks for the good word Chris.......all the cards are still on the table

I'd say this is a milestone Piet........no doubt about it truly awesome! I see some dark haze on the hull......did you camo it already, or is it a lighting thing?

I spent the afternoon on her today..........I'm so glad to see my vision paid off as I mentioned earlier, I made up another wood organizer.....not as elaborate as the one by the main table, but it will serve the purpose. all household stuff......except the 1/4 plywood. all the wood strips are separated.......as soon as I clear a space, I can move it out of the way the underside of the main deck has been painted with Billing's flat pale gray. I noticed that I forgot to paint across the paddle opening......I'll do that later. the counter was marked out and the holes were drilled for the rudders. I'm gonna hold off on installing them, until I get the main deck and the bottom assembled, so I can better assess the depth of the shafts. I also did some more sanding.....it is ready into the paint booth it went.......and got the first coat of gloss lacquer. it was like 'pop city'! it was still wet at this point.......needs to dry now. I went to work on the Norden and browse MSW..... a while later, I took it out of the booth.....I was amazed with how it came out. the grain came out nicely.........and then I heard the admiral. she was asking me about the mahogany for the Nordkap........I haven't even told her that I'm using it on this project and that I want to order blonde planking {basswood or obechi} for 'ole Nordie. well boys......I think I been found out.....time to fess up. it must have sounded like jargon, that is......until she saw the bottom. I flat refuse to paint over wood like this.....this is what it's meant for. the bottom is a little rough, and there are some shadows, from where the lacquer literally sucked into the wood. but, the shine is there......and I am so pleased. I gave it more time to dry. usually I will wipe my hulls down with a clean soft cloth...this is more than enough to knock down the roughness and raised wood fibers. if I wanted to wait a day, then I would have used either steel wool, or some fine sandpaper and do a light sanding. I actually rubbed it down with my bare hands......trust me, my hands were never intended to give back rubs. it's in there now........it got a second coat......it won't need another. the shadows are gone.......and there are no runs, considering I used a rattle can. I am thoroughly impressed with how it came out. I have a picture of it tomorrow.....I want to see what happens to the sheen when it's fully cured. the rudders will match the keel, which sets off the mahogany nicely. see you folks tomorrow

thanks for the good word folks..........and of course, thank you all for hitting the like button more time was spent on her today, bringing her even closer towards being finished thanks Sam...never be sorry about a good one liner {Rodney D. taught me that } never mind that......today, I couldn't get'em to settle down at all, until I went down and got'em the latest copy of Buoy's life.....bata boom...bata bing! a job's a job.......you got one......I got the whole lot of'em! thanks Pat...appreciate the good word thanks Piet......glad you enjoyed the last update......I was chuckling just writing the darn thing it was intended that way....no matter what you do....you gotta have fun doing it. 'cuz if you aren't, then why do it. thanks for the good word my friend man! I can't believe the weather........the last couple of day, it was beautiful! we almost hit 70 degrees.....we lost about 90 % of our snow and ice! today.......30 degrees and an inch of snow! the morning was spent putting together the rollers and cementing them in place on both sides. I even did some of the rigging. I still need to make the trays for the fish and the two small sails. I won't disappoint you on the life preservers John......I still remember I also assembled the upper rollers for the net winch. I had goofed......I had the main part of the bracket attached to both sides of the winch...no.....only one side. so I made the adjustments for that. you can see the two white spots where I patched over the holes. I'll get a better picture when I assemble the other two lines...the ones that go down to the base. I also put the prop on. I don't know why, but the flags on the other buoys came apart. they are sticky.......they wrap around the pole and the two sides fold together. CA fixed that though......they just need a little touching up now. tomorrow's Friday already.....then back to my private purgatory. but there is redemption......I took Sunday and Monday off! I only have to put up with 'em for one day. hope to have an update for you fine folks tomorrow

never thought of that.......thanks for the explanation Russ

sorry to hear you can't do what you intended to do. a different design........are you ordering more cannons? good to hear your making progress...again, I'll look forward to seeing what you've decided to do.

look'in really good

if you look into it, make sure that you purchase the standard edition, and not the basic. the basic decal it kit will not let you import images into the program. I've scanned lots of stuff, like stencils to print out scroll work...perfect for friezes. I have both programs....visit the Testor's site