popeye the sailor

awesome build ........very colorful!

......and here I was, thinking it was near.......it's NOW!!! looks very good Patrick

thank you for the kind word Kees..........having to drag my feet a bit. but it's not all that bad.......when I get back to the table, the last bits should move rather quickly. that's a good question.......between the Holiday build and the A.G. build, I used up most of my wood supply. hated to do it, but I robbed some parts from the two fishing vessels as well........I can do some stuff on them, but their liable to stall until I can replenish. I really haven't thought much beyond the negatives. instead of bee - bopp'in off somewhere.......I'll let cha know. ohhhh, but if I could do what I really wanted to do.........>devilish grin<

getting closer to plank time...........looking really neat!

coming along really nice Ron.......masting looks super!

thanks for the good word every one......didn't get a lot done today, but the two last kit aspects are in the works. then it will be just a few minor things to add, and that will finish the build. sure bet it won't be this week........if I keep getting pulled away you got it Jack.......you should have seen the look on the mail person's face when I showed him what it was. it was even double boxed. how I made the drums is back a ways in the log.......dowel cut to size, with copper {I'll die if was the real stuff} rings glued on. thanks Mark.......as mentioned, it's a lot of color, but it's better than the bland drums they show you in the instructions thanks Marty I'm glad your kidding Piet.......the admiral would never let it stay in the house! I'm working on the other thing......can't say right now......I'm waiting. cryptic I know........but that's me to a 'T'

you could give it a waterline, by painting the bottom paint. could be just this particular kit............if it were me, I would have planked the entire hull.....the heck with that noise of a solid panel bottom. as for the question you PM'd me about........did you get a full sheet with a 1:1 drawing of the deck layout.......anything that shows you where certain parts go? I was looking at the instructions on the Billing USA site...they might as well done it in braille.

nice progress Patrick!

thanks Carl.....heard it all the way over here! part of the fishing gear Ben........the netting doesn't have any on them at the moment, being stowed away on the reels. I'm guessing that when they are deployed, the floatation lines are attached to them, to keep them from sinking too low in the water. as a matter of fact.......the admiral and I were talking this morning....end result was that I was able to pick up a small package of beads. I can make them now.......it will all be clear when I do thanks for the question........I'm not sure of the name of them either.......>shrug<

thanks Izzy.......I'm relieved that you didn't take my comments as criticism........in no way would I ever do that I've only been involved with the medium since 2009, so even if I did throw stones, they'd hit the ground before they ever hit the target but I am familiar with Billing's kits and their construction, so I may be able to help in some small way. as with the instructions, it won't matter much if you were to follow the old or revised copy.......the big differences will be that the kit isn't laser cut and some of the part numbers will have changed. this reminds me of when I began the medium with my first build, the Nordkap. it wasn't laser cut either.......I downloaded the revised copy of the instructions, even though I had the original ones. I'll look forward in seeing the finished hull

that's OK Greg.......I answered your post already thanks Sjors.........your kidding......right?! {I know you are}....unless you enjoy getting a box of wood in the mail I learned my lesson when I sent the Cux to Wisconsin through UPS. it would have made it there in one piece, if it didn't get jammed on the conveyor belt when it got there. thanks for the good word! thanks Wayne!

thanks Patrick and Jack....appreciate the kind word!

thanks Greg........interesting thoughts. I didn't give any thoughts about the poke stick, but I did think about the dispenser and hose. I never went any further than that. I really have no idea where the fill access is on this vessel, but you are right..........how does one get fuel from point A to point B? I'll give it some thought thanks for the good word!

thanks George, Gerty, and Augie yea...........there's color........but I think just having gray and white drums on the deck looked a bit dull.....that's what the kit called for. I think there's realism here.......not a lot, but enough. thanks for the good word thanks also for the likes

planking looks awesome Mark........neat how you left a pre measured gap for the ebony in respect to your next step.......I guess it boils down as to how you want the stern planking to lay. do you want it to butt over the hull planking, or do you want the hull planking to case in the stern planking. V2 has been Very good to you

here are a couple pictures of the build overall.

not much Patrick.......as mentioned, I was saving this for the last step. the reason is that with them on the deck, they actually gave me the feeling that it was finished......I've already done a dry fit, plotting which ones to show together and where. so....I held off on showing any pictures of them on the deck.......even kept them out of sight, so they would be forgotten. it worked well.......no one has mentioned anything about them I'm talking about the fuel drums. I was thinking about the rack......I wanted to put a few there, so I drilled a couple holes and made up a couple of those small hooks. after painting them white, allowing them to dry a bit, the small copper chain was used to lash them in place {cemented in place as well, of course}. OK........that was enough for me.........the bow was set up. after deciding which ones to pair up, these too were cemented in place and lashed. a little forethought here would have been nice......perhaps soldering some eyes to the railings or something, but since I didn't do that, I decided on a simpler approach. the chain was tied to the railing with white thread, and the excess was wrapped around the railing........works just as well in my book I started with the starboard side, and then moved to the port side after. now, on the port side, you see two further back on the fore deck........I changed that. there were going to be too many on the port side.........may make her list, so I moved the extra to the other side. so now, other than adding some rope coils and a few bobbles, all that need to be done, are the life preservers, and what I call the floatation boundary lines. they are in the kit, so I will add them. something I want to add to these lines {I may make two of them}, is something I believe 'probablynot' asked in his Bluenose thread.......a thing called 'baggywinkles' . don't quote me....I haven't even looked into his thread, if his is the actual thread.....but I'll be checking this out. I'll be simply tying short pieces of thread to the line and combing the ends out so they become loose and hairy. I'd do this now.......but I have to wait till I get paid before I can go off on the scavenger hunt to buy the size beads I'll need. I do still have those beads that I like to make the small floatation buoys....like the ones I made for the Nordkap, the Cux 87, and the Mary Ann. but, I voted it down, since these should be a round float, rather than oval thingies. I thought I had some already made still, but I must have used them all.

Yepper........more playtime with Andrea {make the admiral jealous!} I did something today, that I told myself I wouldn't do until the end. so, don't be scared, it's not the end just yet

ohhhhh, your using acrylic.......I have the enamels! the bottles are different too.

that's a fairly large hull Jesse.......how long is the hull? looks big in the picture I use archive pen for the calking......India Ink. used to use the black crayon, but it was very messy {blended in nice when sanded though}. moving along at a decent pace........nice color for the decking

the board your working on is a good idea.........harder to tell if the pictures are upside down or not >just had to drop a subtle hint< your concept is an interesting one, but it has it's dangers. do you want to build the "Will", or do you want to enhance it into oblivion? believe me, I've done it........added so much, that I killed the subject. {check out my Maine Lobster boat build} not too many folks here have ever calked the hull......I think the problems will come when you sand the hull smooth. some of it may be lost, or as a worse case, you may end up with some visible plank lines. I've built many Billing's kits........only one has been with this split hull method.......can't say that I liked it. I didn't want to see a separation line up the bow or stern, so I joined the two halves together before it was planked. made it easier to clamp the two halves together {evenly distribute the cement}. a good suggestion would be to look up images of the actual boat, and see if it fits what you plan to do. I'm not trying to dump on you or anything like that.......it would be sad to see you get half way through the build, and find that the subject went out the window

the academy kit is 1:400.....gonna be a fairly large build when I get to it mass producing rope coils is fun....huh ....and man!....you have a lot of them to do. that jig will get them done in no time flat!

glad to hear your feeling better..........some nice progress you made there! that big cannon on the deck means business...deck fittings looks super!

sorry to hear .......second what Augie said

really looking nice Larry........well done on the rigging!