popeye the sailor

OK........I'm back ........still a bit out of joint, but a few more Advil and moving around, I should be fine. my thumb is throbbing too......a result of giving up on the chopper, cutting and trimming by hand. primitive I know.......but it works anyway......once I got both sides of the bow covered, I could then move back towards the stern. there was a lot of obstacles to work around....a product of my own doing. I made it back to the first torpedo brackets. now to fill in on both sides of the mid ship, and work around the first .50 cal turret and the shields. haven't decided if I'm going to fill in around the brackets and stuff. some of the butt joints show and some don't......I don't want them to be totally obvious, but after the paint, have them just noticeable. when I sand, I'll have to wipe the hull......and not blow on it {it will clean out the gaps if I do}. I mentioned that I would show the structure in place. you'll see plenty of dry fits....I promise

that's what happens when I scratch build........I didn't do a good job {I think} when I did the Phylly C. , or at least that's what she turned out to be yea, I found that you can't go too crazy when build'in a work boat.....ya have to make her look like a work boat. doing the sheeting didn't work out well for me.....that's why I resorted to planking.......go with what cha know {or at least the principles of it} I did much better though this time around with the PT boat, but they wanted me to do it in plastic sheet. I did it in basswood. with those plans, it's very easy to clone another hull. there are many configurations of this boat, and one can go nutz fitting them out I must have missed it, or did you have to cut out all the parts you needed? the Midwest kits are die cut.....but for the scratch built Denny zen, I used the parts panel to trace out the parts {just the hull parts}. anyway, it's good to meet other folks who love to tinker with these older models......I've had a couple that weren't even laser cut. I look forward in seeing more.......you do some really detailed work. have you looked in on the second scratch built hull? here's what she looks like........I have pictures of the real boat.......she looks very close to her I still need to do more to get 'er ship shape. if you like to see more, just browse the scratch build forum for the Holiday Harbor Fleet. there's a fishing boat too {that didn't make the cut}.........the Andrea Gail spawned from this log. look'in forward to see more........all thing Maine L.B.

well........I nearly put my back out of whack.......but the deck is planked! I'll have at least one day to rest up before having to go back to work. these days off thing is too damn short.........MAN!..........I can't wait! I'll have pictures and a break down in just a few.........gotta take Gibbs out and probably grill up the burgers........I'm like starv'in Marvin!

some mighty fine work there this looks to be about the same assembly process as the Midwest Maine Lobster boat. I built the kit and scratch built two others using the plans. I didn't go to the lengths your going though.........very nice !

nice start

read through your log D, and I can sympathize..........at the moment, I'm working on my second non laser cut Billing's kit. one good thing about it, one learns to scratch build pretty much right away she looked a bit worn from storage and age, but you brought her back to life in fine shape! she looks great. congratz on a very fine job!

I have both models of the Waverly life boat.......seems to have the same hull assembly sequence, although I don't recall either one having any sort of frame work. really doesn't make me warm and fuzzy concerning their sturdiness. perhaps one of these days your Archer will make it out of the closet I really wouldn't be too concerned about the warpage.......I'm sure there are stringers that still need to be added

looks awesome!

amazing stuff Greg..........

hey there Mark just caught up with your log and very impressed with the progress. the planking looks really good and will look even better when fully planked! good to see your doing well.

3 was the magic number..........the model is 33 inches long. divided by three gave me eleven sections, which I later marked off the halfway in the middle. thanks I can't wait to see it with a coat of paint

Hi Kevin the shift is every other plank........to go with a three or four butt shift, I would have had to quarter the spacings. I'm just keeping it simple

I've been planking off 'n on today.........need to take breaks to give my fingers some rest. this stuff is hard to cut.......I've been using razor blades to trim it to proper lengths and the shapes I need to obtain. it's no longer mahogany.........it's Ironwood! the chopper is random at best, in giving me a square cut. I have made more progress.......I wanted to wait till I got both sides to the first torpedo mount. but out of habit, I did some light sanding to the bow area......for some reason, I always feel the need to sand as I plank.....can never wait till I'm done. if I didn't wipe her down......you'd see the sanding dust. later, I will set up a small wood block with some sand paper, and go over it some more......but it looks pretty good with what I've done so far..... there's still a few high spots........the block will help in leveling it out my thoughts that there would be some gaps around the structure.....I put too much concern into it.......it didn't come out too bad. I don't have any dry fits.......I'll have to take a few to show you all. working around the structure has been interesting at best........cutting and sanding the rounded edges along the edges at the margins was another concern, with this wood being harder to work with. cutting the filler planks, since they aren't a complete plank width....I'll have to come up with a way to rip them down. just for chuckles, I took a full strip and guided it freehand through the scroll saw. it worked reasonably well........I'll have to make some form of fence to better guide them through. I was able to fill in the port side and along the starboard side of the helm structure. well....that's all I have for now.........back to the table I go.

I think your right Lou.......I recall it was mentioned earlier in the log. scatter brained me, don'tcha know I went a little further with the planking after posting the last update. I made some fair progress. it can be seen along the bow edge, that the planking is a little thicker { .5 mm} than the margins. sanding will take care of that, I'm sure as I was lay'in plank, I though about the shields that are connected to the helm structure.......I will need to make allowance for them as well. this will add to the fancy cutting I'm doing along the bow, and what I have already on the deck. I drew them in on the platform. the other hodge podge you see is the helm floor layout.......I'll show you what I have in mind for that soon. the planking progressed further........ to trace out the shields, I had to put the port side on the structure. I will need to add the small area between the shields, when I do the helm floor. I will also have to fix the port side.......as mentioned, this plywood that the parts were cut from, did not fare well being die cut. laser cutting is the best method......I'd put up with the char anytime! I forgot about the turret.....I drew that in as well......... what's that your think'in..........posting on a Monday?!?!?! I went into work Saturday, and decided to take Monday and Tuesday off hopefully, I can get the deck completely planked, with the additional time {barring interruptions, of course}

the "Biz" looks the BIZ! I didn't think there was that much detail in 1/700, but this one is a definite mind changer! she looks great!

hello Hakan just caught up with your log, and really like how you've progressed with her. she's an amazing looking vessel......very well done!

looks great Mike!

the turbos are missing........thought you put 'em on already ...... splendid looking aircraft......the paint is interesting. very nice work!

I mentioned it...........I've taken a woman's nylons and put it over the nozzle of the vac. hasn't failed me yet

some good advice Andy........I never thought of the foam thing I have the Walther's, model train stuff bookmarked...and I get the Micro Mark catalog which has a bunch of train oriented stuff. motivation.......

one thing I do notice Lou.........in the above picture you posted, the hull on the right is side planked diagonally, going aft to the stern........the one in the far left is being planked diagonally, going left towards the bow. I guess it didn't matter how they were planked. it also looks as though it was framed differently too.

neat! ....a lot more framework than in the model........that's for sure I have the bottom picture in my file......there are others in the Navsource website: Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive so....I really wanted to get a good start on the planking this week........too much stuff got in the way. the weather has gotten so much better, but today looks like its gonna be a bit on the rainy side. I'm glad I got the outside stuff done the first thing I did was mark off the halfway lines.......as mentioned, 3 inches was perfect for this deck, 1 1/2 being the halfway. the bow light was fitted at the bow, by cutting into the margins where they meet. the planking I was going to use was a no go........too thin for the margins, which would leave a ridge along the deck edges. using the Revell model for guidance, I saw that I would need to thicken up the planking. going through again........what I have here, my only option is to use the mahogany planking. it's old wood to be sure......as mentioned, I got it from the other Nordkap kit I got for Christmas {and that was a few years ago}. some is warped in one way or the other, but I'll make it work. there's roughly 44 strips here.......1.5X7X880 mm...should be more than enough. the planking begins...... I will likely need to do some extra sanding.......story of my life......ohhhhh well I started to use white glue, but I found that to continue using it, would bog the process down by having to weight the warped pieces until it dried. CA will work much faster, and will thwart the warpage issue. the center line was about to reach where the helm structure will sit, and I didn't like the way the planking was going to butt up to it. so I laid down a pair of planks to act as a border for the front. you can see why.......this stuff cuts like iron. I bought one of those 'chop boards' from micro Mark, but I'm not real happy with how it works. the blade has dug a groove in the board and the cutter wobbles, so a square cut is iffy at best. I tightened the pivot bolt, which stiffens the arm, but the cutting action causes the blade to warp...the harder the wood, the worse it is. I see spot putty in my future. earlier, I mentioned my thoughts about assembling the helm structure........to use those center deck fillers and assemble the helm on it, as one would if they were building an R/C boat. my bad though.......I failed to see it with all the dry fitting I did. the structure is not square at the base, so when it is in place, I foresee a noticeable gap at the front along the sides. I might be reading too much into it.......but I don't think I am we shall see.......

nice progress Greg.......the structures look great on deck coming along nicely!

some really great progress Chris........looks super now that she has a coat or two of paint I know lacquer paint has a hard finish........I believe that Urethane is a bit softer. awesome color...........concerning that first batch you never got......I hope whatever was involved with it, looks good in it

your powering right along OC.........the figures look super nice looking case too.......what happened with the other gent? did it come down to not being able to produce a case like that in glass, or did he decline to go further? I'm sure he lost some money having to post all those claims for damage. anyway, I'm glad you finally have a case to work with now you have a definite playing field to work with.