popeye the sailor

thanks everyone for the kind comments and the likes this bit of progress moved rather fast......once the brackets were made, they solved the problem, and the rest was sheer play time Patrick and George: I wish I did have a case ready for her...trouble is I haven't. I have three others that I have done, that are in boxes in my hallway closet. I don't want them getting dusty......a case has been on my mind for a while now. the admiral and I have been looking though.......we've seen a few tall glass cabinet style cases......should bite the bullet and buy one. checked into making one as well..........the cost of plexi-glass is astounding :o the 'birds' will be partially deployed {perhaps an inch or so from the yokes}, so the rigging will be more pronounce. the yokes are very fragile.......I should have perhaps made them from brass..........they've broken and I've had to fix them. I still haven't terminated the rigging though, so if I later decide not to do it, I can, the yokes fit in the boom frame, but it is a snug fit. I do like them off the mark though..........jury's still out on it we're not done yet.........still a bit more to go. I have another update......yesterday was one busy day

engine looks awesome Michael! a belated on your 20th.....glad to hear your admiral is doing well

i was referring to the two lockers that sit on each side of the main deck, before the fore deck...tall skinny lockers. Revell made no effort to include a pig pen or paint locker in their kit. I did do something with the windlass and anchor chain...the kit calls for using three pieces of chain.....I used two by drilling a couple holes under the fore deck, and two more holes covered by the chain gates. I'm sure you'll get to this step soon no mowing here yet {thank goodness}.........the snow has finally disappeared!

nice deck planking.......really like how the bow is shaping up

thanks John...... so anyway......now that I have my mind straight.......it needs to be forward......the counter weight reel is aft. basically, my original idea is good, just that the telemetry is a bit off. to avoid having the termination line hinder on the top bar, the double block needs to be in a more forward position. I was looking at the aft spotlights, doing some touch ups, when the thought came to me......a bracket. two more pieces of the styrene tubing were cut......actually four, but whose counting these were cleaned, sanded square, and cut in half. a couple triangular pieces of styrene was cut from the flat stock strip, I had cut earlier. glued to one half of the tubing.......these were roughed out. they need to be trimmed and rounded. while they were drying, the other control panel was threaded and made ready to cement into place on the deck. this time I made it a point to hang a clothes pin to the end and let it hang......in order to get the memory out of the thread. there was some serious kinking being on that flat card it comes on. then, in checking them and finding that they were dry enough, I took the first one and shaped it. a hole was drilled for the eye bolt. I started to work on this one. the other one is already on the bar by this time. the other half was cemented in place to complete the bracket. the spotlights will be done in the same manner......I had cut them with a razor blade, so there was no material loss, and no gap would be seen. given a light sanding, it isn't noticeable at all. the eye bolt and double block was fitted in place. I mentioned those other brackets for the stabilizer booms. I guess you could call them sway bars.....this bar will arrest the boom, to keep it in a equal arc as it is deployed, and prevent sway fore or aft. there is one for the aft side.....it is chain, but it isn't critical........I'll show this later. the forward sway bar does most of the work. the port side is cemented in place. since I plan to have them deployed, not connected to the yokes, I cut the bars to what I figured was reasonable. I would have had to do some figuring to come up with the correct radius........these will do eye bolts have been added to one end. I'll have to watch how much of this dowel I use........or I'll end up getting more for the buoys the spotlights were touched up......even added a touch of flat white to the florescent tubes......mixing it around to activate the silver, mixing it together. after a pair of eye bolts were added to the other end of the bars, they were painted flat white. when the control panel was dry, it was rigged through the double block.........clamping the clothes pin on again, because I added more to the length of the thread. the sway bar bracket was painted green at this time as well. it was time to add the clear cello to the spotlights, completing their assembly. I also thought about the counter weight rigging........this too needed some sort of bracketing to prevent the chain from sagging. taking two of those rings, shown earlier, they were spread out far enough, to clamp on the boom's outer framework at different places. two did the trick. an eye bolt was added as well for the sway bar attachment. so.......both booms are permanently attached to the model now. how they are deployed is the way she will look. now I need to turn her around and duplicate what I did on the port side. the addition of the double block bracket was a success, there is no more hindrance...the rigging is free.

thanks Mark, Carl, and Bob...........oh, yes....still more to go. forget what I said earlier about the positioning.......sometimes I don't know which side my pulley's at....hee...hee......... my second idea in rigging this is working out better than I thought. it looks even better too perhaps I can show you......give me a moment thanks again for the good word and the likes!

OMG........on such a tiny spectacle! the vane looks so cool!.........dresses the mast up in a big way

thanks Frank! kinda makes me look like I know something.......huh!!! thanks for the good word!

thanks for the kind comments and likes.......and a warm welcome Jack...glad to see new faces looking in. not totally positive as to how these are rigged, but the pictures do show lines governing these particular points on the booms. for all I know, these could have been separate lines, but this type of rigging assembly combines the two together. it does show functionality, and that, is of course what I was shooting for. I might have to amend what I said earlier though......I'll have to place the double block aft of the yoke. if I go forward, it may interfere with the counter weight, and this will be rigged with chain. since this seems to be a step in the right direction, the other aspect should be toyed with......the alignment of the booms. they tend to swing aft, most likely due to not taking the curve of the hull into perspective, in the positioning on the boom brackets. I'll get into this later when I make more progress. thanks again for the comments, likes and for looking in......I raise a glass.....or, even a boom...in your honor!

I'm officially on vacation off to a slow start though.......Tuesday was an errand day, ran a few of those and surveyed the yards......the plow guy did a number on the back yard. it's not my problem.....I should let the landlord handle it, but he'd do a crappy job....that I am sure of ! I can wait on it....there is still a small mound of snow and Ice that needs to go away I did manage to do a small bit on Andrea, but it was not enough to even mention. yesterday proved to be the better day, I did a lot more the frame work that needs to go under the first part of the trawl rig was where I had left off.....Tuesday was mostly fitting it in place. before I get to it though.......I recall a problem that was mentioned. I believe it was Mobbsie, that pointed out what looked like a small crack in the starboard side stanchion for the fore deck. I took care of it my friend......I didn't forget about it. thanks for pointing it out to me ...now for that piece of framework........ after fitting it, it was touched up with flat white. it was then cemented in place. seen in the picture.....is the starboard side stabilizer boom......pinned and cemented in place. the main objective here, is to figure how to rig them, so the lines don't hinder anywhere. this is tough, because the telemetry seems a bit off....and with no real plans to work with, the problem is compounded. going into the collection of older decals I made, I chose the ones that I will use for the control panel face. for the levers, I used some belaying pins, which Billing's supplies in their kits. dry fitting it in place.......the reel on the bow side will be deployment reel. the one on the aft side will be for the anchor weight {counter weight, would be a better name}. the pulley {block} assembly for this will need to be high up, but no higher than the top bar. I will use a double and a single block for this assembly. the single block will be located just below the contact point of the yoke, where it rests when not in use. an eye bolt will be located at the tip of the boom for a line to widen the weight distribution of the rigging. sorry for the background being so busy, here on the table. you may have to look close. the double block.......the dilemma.........where to position it. I can't put it on any of the side frames.......it would be too far aft, and it would want to pull it aftward. there are the guide bars that I need to add later {those other brackets I made}, and that will pull them forward, to align them with the yoke. I decided to put the double block just under the top bar, behind the yoke. it imitates a peak halyard, to sum it up in a nutshell. I like the way it looks, but the upper line going to the eye bolt, is hindered by the top bar and yoke. I will try something different with the port side, and if it works better, I can adjust the starboard side. I won't need to change where the control panel is.......this is the most logical spot for it. clearly, the problem is here. looking at it at this point, I may have to relocate the double block to the forward side of this anchor point. we shall see

nicely done Nenad! you could move the lockers a bit closer and hide them........but I would think the cages were removable, so they could be cleaned...especially the pig pen. I can just hear the sailor {tasked with the job} now......."I'm not gonna crouch down there to clean that!" as for those lockers, Revell called them sail lockers in their instructions. there are some 39 sails that fit the Cutty.......I'm in doubt that they would all fit in them. they could be a utility locker......or possibly even the heads. perhaps someone can clear this up...... have fun with the windlass.........let the spice flow!

a friend of mine told me about this method.......I really haven't had the reason to try it yet. it works well. Bill Nye would be proud of you.......very well done!

if you have any sag in the bow standing rigging.......doing the standing rigging for the main mast should tighten the bow up. making some nice progress, and moving at a decent pace very nice

super diorama you've set up there....very well done! the figures look superb

like the wood grain look......and the staggers can be seen very nice so far!

looking very nice Larry! I can imagine a whole row of 'em sweet!

thanks Greg..........I'll get some time in, I'm sure I made only a little progress yesterday......out running some errands and surveyed the yards. the plow guy really did a number on the back yard...got some landscaping to do, that's for sure. very little snow is left on the ground now........so happy to see it gone. should have an update very soon thanks for looking in!

looking good Kees!

I didn't take that long of a hiatus.......but I'll bet it was for the same reason.......lack of time. no actually, I think your build is to be commended. this build is based on an idea you had........you could have done as many have in the past {I'm sure}......just let it fester, but you chose to act on it. as you say.....it may not have begun as well as you would have liked, but looking at what you've accomplished so far, I'd say you've fine tuned you idea quite well. chalk it up to a rough idea......or a hairbrained scheme.........but your effort and commitment has shined from the beginning. your going to have some enjoyable memories, as you look up at her....finished.....up on your mantle your cage looks great........needles are a very hard metal.....must have been tough to trim them all. piggy looks good in there!

awesome! simply awesome!

thanks for the good word and likes! yes, I'm quite pleased with the way she's fitting out. there are several more aspects that need to be added, and then it's the finer bits of detail I want to add to finish her off. I wish I was into weathering Matti......but I'm not that good. my eyes are trained to see only the beauty........not the age. I need more training ion that area I see you've been doing some looking for pictures of Nanny Dee, Nenad.........look for the poem 'Tam 'O Shanter' by Robert Brown {I believe that's who penned it}...and you'll get the low-down on the lore...right down to the horses tail, she has clutched in her hand I know what you mean though.......I promise to get as much build time in as I can

now your going places Nenad.....first the trailboards ......and now this!?!?! I can't wait till you get to the structures...to see what you come up with!

looking great Michael......the bends look really tight

man........is she REALLY taking shape! the mock ups look great! if you can get all that detail in the finished sails, they will add so much to the build......simply awesome! not to worry about the rigging........it always looks like that, until it is tied down and trimmed your really going above and beyond on this build!

looking awesome Mark!