popeye the sailor

thanks for the kind comments and the likes folks.........it does help to decrease the uncertainty as I get further along with the build. as spyglass mentioned.........for those who aren't sure how large this model is.......the hull from bow stem to stern, is only 18 1/2 inches long. the parts are small....I'd even say tiny, compared to other models I've built. I'm finding out that some parts are quite delicate.......as shown here. to pass the time yesterday, I played around a bit more with some of the deck parts. the winch looked like a good place to start. I began this bit of playtime with the wooden parts for the winch. trying to assemble it as a dry fit, I found that some parts didn't fit too good, or not at all. holes needed to be drilled out larger, for the rollers to fit into the end parts........as well as the drums, not drilled out enough to fit the rollers either. then the top hole on one side of the winch end caps broke, causing me to abandon the dry fit. these parts are nicely done.......all of the punch outs are clean. I do have another sheet I can play with later, in the event that I create another hull frame. after this happened, I turned my attention to the metal sheet. all of the punch outs needed to be cut out.......punching through with a drill, and then cleaning them out with an x-actor blade. it did work out well, as metal carving goes.......having some lilliputian files would have been nice. little by little.........cut, scrape, and eyeball..........repeat, until they got to where they look halfway decent. then, it was the painstaking task of drilling out all of the drums, so they would fit on the roller pins. it was a lost cause to pinch them in my fingers, to drill them.....the bit would bind in the metal and start them spinning. I literally had to trap them in a clothes pin, and clamp them in the vise......and use my battery operated drill to ream out the holes. the first roller was done......the little guy near the top of the pict. the bottom roller had a larger diameter pin on one side, than the other {unknown reason why}, so the drum and the winch end cap for that side needed to be drill out to fit.. that process is now done........I did get to dry fit, but the fit is still poor due to the fact that both rollers are not at an equal width {concerning the center area}. when I finally assemble it, two short rods need to be added to the base, and they should square it up. I'm also looking at what I believe is called the bilge pump......basically, just a straight rod with three odd looking things in the middle. there must be some way to dress them up and make the assembly look more functional. as for the other parts I have for the winch......I don't have any more parts this size to make them, but I'm sure I can scratch something out.....we'll see now..........all this looks like more fun than a grown man can handle, but an idea arose from it. if I can do this to these parts....scalping out all the punch outs, what can that mean for the skylight parts for the galley? does this mean that the skylight plugs I have might not be needed? would I venture to make the frame for a hollow skylight? oh.........the plot thickens.....

thanks for all the fine comments........and to all who hit the like button jigs and such are our way of dealing with the little nuances in our hobby........whether to better control the part that we're working on, or to create parts that would be impossible to fashion by hand. through my years here, I've seen many unique and ingenious aides.....we still haven't lost our instincts........the art of making our own tools. some can be used over and over.....while some are made out of necessity......I seem to fit the latter. I do tend to save them, hoping that another use can be found for them. I did some painting yesterday.......very exciting good thing there were other parts to add or make......or I would have gone mad. I have some form of an update........there would be more pictures, but the camera wasn't cooperating, being low on charge may have been the culprit. in this photo, one needs to look in the center........this part was very hard to get a good shot of. I mentioned the idea I had using the half round jewelry pieces, that I used on the Andrea Gail build. they will make perfect shackles. bad part is.......I only have three of them....I will have to get more. the thread is run through a channel on one side, threaded around the outside of the half loop, and run through a channel on the other side. when the net rigs are connected to them, they will be closed together and seized. the same will be done on the cone end of the net, although the line attributed to it isn't there yet....but it will be soon. this gives reason for the double block. the line has been cut, and the shackle half installed, waiting for when the rig is added to it. that's it.....dangling in the air. here are a couple of poor shots in the make shift paint booth. I made up another jig to hold the bead string, while it was painted........it didn't go so well. no matter how one tries........you can never paint the dark side of the bead while this was drying........the extra light issue was resolved. the three lights, I had made brackets for, are now in place. one will light the net winch area........there is to be a larger spotlight that will light up the rest of the main deck area. the other two were put in the aft section, to light up that deck area. almost time to begin fleshing that area out

amazing Nils...........I like the gratings.........nice added detail

awesome looking boat David

the hull frame looks really nice........the contour is well defined. she's gonna plank up nicely!

nice progress Dave

well blow me down.............Ben! welcome back..........!

thanks Pat........I did we're not going to lose this snow any time soon now. beads and trawl rigs are getting painted at the moment, so I'll have to play with something else........ I did check......I only have three. I will have to go, but I think tomorrow will be a better day. I did thread up the two lines I have set up for the trawl nets.......they are going to do just fine thanks for the good work.....lov'in the fact that I took today off.....it would have been a sh__show at work!

all I gotta say, is this has got to be a well thought out build. your envisioning skills must be in high gear. keep it up and keep going.....your doing an awesome job!

my god Patrick.........I don't know how you do it! one totally awesome model

they look terrific Rob!

I'd be proud to walk that deck at night simply awesome!

what to do on a snowy day........can't spend all day antagonizing the admiral.......so perhaps I should bury my face at the table {from the looks of the table, that's essentially what I'd be doing}. I got my first cup of coffee...........oh! excuse me, I should give the reason why I was home on Sunday........and today, for that matter. I took these days off.........Walking Dead resumed last night....and it did not disappoint! don't know how many here follow it.......but it's one of a few shows I really like! >cuddle time for me an' Gibbs anyway.....crazy dog!< so anyway.........my coffee.......settle at my desk and switch on the computer. I got this crazy idea to string the beads for painting. I started to paint them individually, but I think that would be like water torture........and I saw that I had done the beads for the Cux in this manner as well. I also reverted to the rope that started it all.........hemp. I still have plenty of it. I rigged the Nordkap with it.........and the Cux too, if I recall. I still like how it looks so much like actual rope, when coiled up. I'm going to give them a coat of primer first, since they are different colors and clear coated. I separated the colors, for no particular reason. if you look close to the last few on each strand, you'll see the original beads I started with. I'm also going to use the hemp to line the mouths of the nets. one redundant property of hemp thread, is that it is a little stiff.......it will work in my favor, in keeping the nets open. the thread needs to be sewn on........there laid the problem. if I wasn't sticking myself with the needle, I was fumbling with the needle, juggling between the net, the hemp thread, and the needle itself. I need a third hand here....and so I made one. cementing a paper towel roll on a piece of pine board, I had what I needed........I even set up another table to work on. it was still a little clumsy though.......the hemp thread wanted to be a fly in my ointment. I cemented an eye bolt in one of the thumb tack holes, and made a do it yourself guide for the thread. ....and for you swing'in bachelors out there, who can't thread a needle, one of the many thumb tack holes, easily becomes a holder for the needle, to make the task much easier. I'm not a bachelor.........I play one in my dreams I'm not the best seamster either.........> note to self: put seamster in the dictionary....because, like.......I'm a guy first one done! the second one went quicker, without all that >#@%**#! smooth as silk {just some minor pricking} both of the net rigs are suspended off of the crane light..........I'm in the process of setting up some sort of spray booth in Kevin's old room. .......what else can I do that's good 'n hostile................oh yea......I can paint those brackets for the extra lights, I was spouting about earlier. in my dreams last night, I think I solved how I'm going to hang the nets. I put brass rings on the cone end of 'em, and was thinking about the rope that will be seized on there. I recalled those half round clips I used on the Andrea Gail....the ones I used as shackles. I have to look and see if I have four of them. if not........then I guess I'll have to snow blow the eight or so inches {I'm guessing at the moment}, that fell between yesterday and last night. February is here.......28 days of hell for this neck 'o the woods. hope to have another update soon

wonderful build Jim! I thumbed through the entire log, and the care that you've put into her is just super! I'm not an expert on these types of ships either, and to see what you've created, makes me thing there's hope for me yet I watch with interest us characters gotta stick together....even thoughs yas tries ta beat tha crap out'o me! AKK-k-k-k-k-kk---k-k!

video or not.........it's an awesome looking structure! very well done!

very nice work Mark......... the laser cutting looks awesome!

then comes the burning question........if this is to be the first planking, why was that so important? you could have made up for it with the next pair of planks. did you correct the side that seems to be sticking out? it's good that your putting some thought into it........but it will be even more critical when the second planking starts. as Pat mentioned......it might not be a good idea to have the plank run seams in line with one another, due to cracking issues down the road.

thanks Rob..........no, the chain is as I bought it. it kinda stinks because there is a shininess to it. this will all be painted flat gray.......I'm hoping that I bought the same gray, that I painted the inner bulwarks. I made a boo boo with a slightly darker gray, and I need to fix it. thanks for the kind comment .........and thanks to all who hit the like button

thank you gentlemen........I only sanded the char off the bulkheads. I didn't want to lose the camber. the structures are interesting to assemble, but I would like to get something done on the hull. I need to mark out the areas for the structures though, so I can do the deck planking. I want to do the waterways and around the structures with the mahogany, before I plank. I'm thinking that the deck is laid with yellow pine, with teak outlining the structures. also, the inner bulwarks is planked with a darker wood.......I may go with annegre {used in the majority of the Billing kits} I notice that I have a supply of this wood in the kit......0.5 x 2 mm. pin rails will also line the inner bulwarks. Thanks Rob........I will check them out thanks to all who hit the like button!

I'm just as bad.........taking pictures on such a cluttered table. the zoom on my 'el cheapo' is terrible....but I still try. you did well Carl.......you've made some decent progress. keep going........you doing a great job are you going to paint, or leave the etch as it is?

a little brass here and there will make a big difference...should accent them quite well you'll do all that when you rig them to the deck. do a search on this vessel {and others like it}.......it will give you so many ideas it's those little extras, that will make it your own

I spent some time on her today.......working on the galleys. as mentioned, the one that will get the metal plating is taking most of the time, having to border them off in mahogany. I have the two sides and the aft done so far. I've started to assemble the companionway and the front of the structure. as mentioned, I wanted this one to be more rectangular, than the other one. it does eat up a bit more deck......but I like it. I wasn't warm and fuzzy about how the roof is shaped on the companionways, so I gave them a more rounded appearance. I have put away some of the 1/32 flat stock in my scrap bin. this stuff is very flexible and will make these rounded bends without breaking. helps too if it is damp, so I soaked it for a couple of mins.......it's all it takes. the one with the metal will get finished off.........the other one will be done with the wood panels. another thing I finally did, was cap off that aft bulkhead for the poop deck. that bugged me to no end! I also did more sanding to the poop bulwarks.......may need a tiny bit more tweaking, but the bulwarks are level with the deck. I cut out the rest of the metal plates......panels?, I needed to finish off the galley. I have these two skylight blanks that I will try and cut down to fit the roof parts........have to see how they work out. I only have to work tomorrow..........I took the rest of the week end off. thank the good lord! small squall tonight....but another larger storm for Sunday into Monday. I'd rather be home! brace up Tom......February is shaping up to be the snow month!

the other net rig is done........once the center lift was attached, the two other support chains were fastened in place. ....and then they were attached. for some reason, I had a little trouble lining them up. when I did the first one, I drilled the holes at that point and fitted the eye bolts. but I had already measured this one out, so I did 'em beforehand. I couldn't get the beads out of my mind........I knew we were going to Wal-Mart. they had a package of assorted beads, so now I have what I need. painting to follow.........and hopefully the nets thanks for look'in in.

very well done on the mast tops and trees Tom

I plan on the green, since it's the color I'm used to seeing. as it's shaping up........I may not be able to correct all the little nuances with it, but I'm gonna do my best. I'm working on the galleys at the moment........I should have an update soon. that's what I'm having to do Hof........just as Revell used the Cutty to clone their kit of the Thermopylae, so have these guys. I'm sure most model manufacturers are no different. Billing does it too I have the site that John linked me too.........that's about as good a replica as I'm going to see. I can't say too much bad about the kit......it would make a decent model.......it would just have a few inaccuracies hello there Gary! no parts list here........I only got two large sheets. first sheet is the hull......flip over to many diagrams and the rigging. the second sheet is a full view of the mast and sails......you have to use this to cut out all the sails. the back side to that one is a few more diagrams and instructions in multi languages. your correct......this kit would be better suited to build a Cutty. the scale is another Achilles heel......trying to find additional parts is hard.....the biggest curiosity, is the absence of life boats. I have a few ideas of my own, and coupled with what I have, I'm sure it will turn out look'in alright. thanks for the info.....I hope you follow along thanks Carl..........when you see the next update, you'll know I'm on the up & up