popeye the sailor

I just found your build.........very nice indeed! the sails look great......nice straight stitching.....and freehand no less. you have some good skills here..it would be a shame if you didn't continue I have built many Billing's kits........I've never done anything like that to shape the stern. for the bow though, I would suggest that you trim the bow end of the planks at an angle {to the angle of the bow stem}, and bevel the plank so it will lay on the stem flush. keep them all in line, and you'll get a perfect bow....with little filler work. anything else........comes with experience........so I'll look forward in seeing that Bluenose kit when you get 'round to building her

thanks for the good word JP. these kits are a fun build...glad to have you following along.

that's the modeling medium in a nut shell......it has it's ups and downs, but the finished model makes it all worth it. great looking model Isabella

very nice paint job Jerry...........as with your progress. I've seen those sprayers before.....never used one myself. if it had a attachable air delivery supply to it.......maybe. I guessing that the body of the sprayer is a canister of compressed air.....likely not enough there for a larger job. control of the spray would be another issue........the sweep of the pass you'd make, would depend on how thick the paint goes on. glad you found out early she's look'in good Jerry......

I say..........feed 'em to the squirrels! awesome job! will there be other pirates on board? Imagination is the key!

really nice work Bob....the extra detail is sweet!

OK........I did say I'd try and show you what I'm doing for this ladder. the welding wire is stretched out on the board, the spreader is set up with pins, to keep the width of the wire even all the way down. I need the ladder to be around 8 inches long.....the longest ladder I've ever done. I liked some of the results from my experiments.....but there is one method I haven't tried yet....solder. I take that back.........I did try it and I failed........I will attempt it again. so I've soldered around five or six rungs at this time...........seems every time I start, something comes up......GRRRRRR?!?!?!?! looks kind of gaudy to me....which is what I encountered the last time I tried this. here is the spreader......set up and doing the job.......I may have to adjust it from time to time. I have both means to solder.....this one allows me to do this in the house. the other one will no doubt set off the fire alarms....he..he {second floor does it all the time.....she's a bad cook!}. I've had this soldering iron for quite some time.....I should try out the new one I found.......yepper.....found I'm using light electronics solder to do this.........I'm wondering if a flame would lessen the amount of solder. I'm trying to use as little as I can. should I also sort of paint the wire with the flux before soldering, instead of just dipping the tip of the iron in it? there is a rosen core in the soldering wire, but probably not enough for the application i'm using it for.

hello Nils yepper! try'in to spark some life back into one of my other builds more to come.......and something you might be interested in.....perhaps even a suggestion or two, given your metal prowess thanks for the good word hey there Patrick........yea, cat's out of the bag........got a small project going on. trying to get multiple things moving, and stop look'in like a one armed paper hanger. I still have a little more to go on the mast.......and then, there's the ladder...a very long ladder thanks for the good word!

the Lobster Boat was also done with these hull panels.........I failed miserably with that build. but I succeeded here....I feel real good about that the cabin sides were put back in...they still are not cemented in. I want to paint them first...I'll use some of that tint cello for the window glass. I probably should make the stand for her too.......might dress it up too. the bow is very blunt, as you might have noticed.... ....layers of the keel, the bow stiffeners, and the panels. a square piece of wood fits on it.......awaiting to be sanded to a point. I pre-drilled the hole they say to put through it. .......might take a day to sand it....... I do have to ask though.......am I right in calling the keel fin, the skeg?

hello Jack........and welcome yes.....another one. didn't anyone ever tell you........."crazy people can't count!" I'm getting close towards putt'in some paint on her........enjoy I really didn't get a chance to plot out any real mods for this one Bob.........so any sort of bash work will have to happen later to do any mods, I'd have to start at the keel........re-positioning the cabin to some degree....the center board. oh well........I can always do something later, I still have the plans. that's one thing about the Midwest kits....the plans are 1:1 and they are very good after all.......I was able to scratch build the Lobster boat and create the Tree boat from the M.L.B. plans I'm actually a little afraid to do too much to this little morsel.........it's a work boat. you were the one who informed me that I had put the last nail in the coffin of the lobster boat. I thank you for being honest..........for that, the remedy I chose produced the Phylly C. , which showed how versatile that particular boat is. this hull design is no different really...I'm sure there were modifications done to suit one's needs and taste. I won't stray too far from the plans........perhaps some of the hardware.......maybe add in a prop or two, as I'm not going to put a lot of time into her ......I say that now................. enjoy Bob.......always a pleasure having you look'in in

I heard Marc.....very sad indeed. good of you to post his obit.......it has grown a lot

are you unable to locate the missing part? perhaps there is a fellow modeler that might have an extra kick'in around.......or order the part from the model company? wish I could help you out there.....sounds like your making some good recovery progress. for what it's worth........I'd put some feelers out there and continue working. folks will only be looking at the upper part of the ship you might get lucky.

I don't use the dremel much either.....the dog hates the sound of it sweet looking carronades!

I made a bit more progress with the mast. there more to go, bu I gave it some frame work. then....if you remember, I made a mention about a ladder, if I went this route in adding the top. rather than try making one out of wood.........I'm going to try and solder something together. the welding wire is very stiff.....took like forever to get straight. I made up a jig to do this on...............making eyelets on the ends of both wires, they are fastened to the board with push pins. there is another piece of wood that has pins in it, to insure the width of the wire and to hold it steady while I solder the rungs on. the rungs will be held in place by other longer pins. this will be a long ladder, so it might take a while. I'll try and show you what it will look like.........I have a few done already.

AHOY Patrick! welcome to my nightmare Midwest lives up to it's reputation......nice kit, but there are some things that the avid modeler can do to enhance the model. color can be an asset.....we'll see! thanks for the good word I didn't take too many pictures after the first hull panel. the other one was cemented in place.......I left most of the excess material up along the deck. it looked kinda cool........like a bulwark....all I would have needed to do, was to add posts along the sides. I then thought........a bow spirit......a second jib sail..........but the decking along the cockpit and cabin ruled that out. it would look silly. the bottom panels were also added to the hull......again with the excess over hang material. this will be trimmed off and the edge sanded smooth. the over hang along the deck was trimmed off as well, sanding the edges flush to the deck. it can be seen what I meant about sanding the keel........very uneven where it joins the bottom panel halves together. two chafing planks will be added along both sides the keel. since that isn't going to be possible, to produce a flat surface here, I'm going to need to sand the keel flush with the bottom and fill the center in. there is a center board {leeboard} that is to be installed just before the start of the incline, of the keel fin {term needed here......errrr, skeg?}. I left that slot open for it's location.........I will cut it down to show it in the retracted position. sanding took out most of the skeg's starting point.........I build it up with some 1/32 flat stock and added the stern post. I'll have to check the camera.........I know there were more pictures, as well as some of the progress made on the Syborn. I'll be back

hello Nenad.........yea........another one. this should be a short build though, or I might have thought twice about lay'in glue to it. now.........I could have made the admiral happy and started the Thermopylae, but with the thoughts I have about that kit.......everyone would have thought I really went off my nut! all I will say......is that the hull is well worth cloning enjoy the build my friend..........the possibility of bashing this build is tough at this point, due to it's construction. but.....there is still hope! this is a much larger session than the other ones {so far}.......I'll put a little meat to this post the frame is sanded at this time....time to install the side panels. makes me laugh that they call this planking. the overhang is also seen here as well........all of these parts are over sized for proper fitting. I had an evil thought to make another transom part, and move it back, but that would have made the aft deck look too wide, so I opted not to. I should have trimmed this beforehand, but I guess now is as good a time as any.

the next day heralded the second session. I was still plagued with the "headaches".......one being my son's car. for anyone who has car knowledge....in drive a car normally idles around 600 - 700 rpms.............his car, out of the blue, would shoot up to 2200 rpms! no rhyme or reason......and with no mechanical movement when it would do it. no check engine light either, which made it even harder to ascertain. I nailed it down to the AIC valve........I replaced it, and all seemed fine. he called telling me that his check engine light is on........come to find out, he had gotten some gas and didn't tighten the cap enough nice it's something to laugh about anyway..........enough about me..........how are you? I ask that of all my friends the cabin sides are fitted into place........I did a little more hand bending. perhaps I should have used a bigger pencil there is some issues with the fit.......the F3 cabin wall area isn't wide enough. I had to add about 1/32 to the width so it would even out at the port corner. I also had to adjust the height of the cockpit floor.....daylight can be seen in the back. the rest can be adjusted with sanding. it was time to add the chine stringers and the keel stringers. 3/32 square stock was used....and of course the openings needed to be made bigger for them to fit properly. the chine stringers needed to be trimmed at an angle so it could meet the keel stringers at the bow. you can see that a pair of "bow stiffeners" were added to the bow line as well. the two sides need sanding now, so the hull panels can be cemented into place. for now though.........I have an errand to be run >sigh<

The Christmas tree boat is now a reality. I've been trying to break away to do other things, but it just wouldn't let me go! it wasn't due to the ideas that were running through my mind at the time.....it was just everything around me. from working on cars, and work in general.....to events around the home....it just felt like a weight was sitting on my head, weighing me down. one week........to two weeks..........I could only endure short stints at the table. I wasn't there.......and there seemed little use to push.........this couch potato crap had GOT to go! I've had this kit for about a year now.........the admiral saw it and thought it looked cute. I'd pull it out every once in a while and tinker with it......without the application of glue, when I'd sit at my computer hatching idea for the other builds. I had a few for this kit too......the reason for all the dry fitting. I was planning a multi-boat build with this kit, but I have since given up the project. there are much bigger fish to fry, rather than spend my time bashing the crap out of a level 1 kit. I should have done what I was going to do earlier........start the mast work on the trawler Syborn, but I was still suffering from the mental block........so I brought this kit out to tinker with. once the glue touched the wood.......there was no turning back. I didn't have to remove the hull parts from the panels......that was already done. small ans short pieces of 3/32 square stock need to be cemented onto the bulkheads, in specific places to act as assembly tabs. some trimming was needed to clear the assembly slots.........and of course, figuring out the lingo of sliding thing over and onto. but the assembly of the frame was under way........no real rocket science to make them straight. the deck platform and the mast collars were added to the frame at this time. the deck was cemented on next. I had begun to think that there was a problem......it had a overhang at the transom of roughly 1/4 of an inch. I later came to the conclusion that these parts are merely over sized, to allow for fitting and sanding. the cut of the keel part is pretty rough.........I did a little sanding which was a bad move {you'll see later}. adjustments were made and allowed to dry.........the two pieces of the cabin needed to be bent, in the meantime. I normally do this simply by getting the parts wet {water}, and bending them by hand. in the instructions, they say to use alcohol.......so that's what I did. it worked, but I still like my way better. I did get to do something to the Syborn's mast....I posted it already. through the sessions with this model, I've done a little more here and there....and the muddled mind syndrome is beginning to clear. glad to see that there is hope, and that pulling this kit out wasn't a complete waste of time.

looking sharp Isabella.......are there any more cannons to put in? if the instructions are anything like the ones we see.......your better off using them just as a reference! :D I believe constructo has a kit like that out there. glad to see your having a fun time with this kit.........hope to see you continue.

planking is coming along really great! have a smooth trip

thanks Jesse and Frank......it's been a while since I last posted on this build. there's still much more to go on her....so there's still more to see welcome and hope you follow 'till the end thanks Pat.......I'm just glad {and fortunate} that it isn't 'cuz of sickness.......way too much of that going around. spending more time on the Tree Boat as I did, ........the thought process flows better doing timely things, rather than to make time for the transition of events. I should have started the mast when I was thinking of it. we'll see how much of what I was thinking about.......I can remember

I always say "insanity has it's rewards!" the railings are a nice touch.......and the bow looks even better with the new hardware. great looking ship Patrick, which is further emphasized by the scale you've done it at

so...these are made from the molds?........must have been tough to clean out the shieve holes. really nice work Daniel!

hull and deck looks great Frank! I have a hard time getting that color.........I use mahogany and Anegree. I just got a good supply of .05 basswood strips, so now I can stain to whatever color I desire I like your choice of hull color too

nice to meet you Isabella.....I hope you enjoy the medium enough to continue. there are plenty of kits out there for your age group Kudos Grandfather!