popeye the sailor

looks good to me too Chris      hope your feeling better.

AWESOME!!!  I love it!   

the .50 cal parts........I got extras for these,  just in case.  the plastic used is suggested that it is somewhat brittle,  and care should be taken to remove the part from the tree.

the carriages,  the ammo / belts,  and the actual guns

these are the .50 cal tub parts and the turrets tubes supplied in the kit.

these are the 20 mm gun parts.

more to come  

do you have a link?

the stern is going to be the tough spot here.   this contour is common with fishing vessels.  as I have done with quite a few of my fishing vessels,  I took sheet basswood and created panels to cover this area.  the Nordkap.......the Progress......the Cox 87 and the mary Ann,  I've pretty much done the same thing.

with my build of the Progress {which is a clone model of the Nordkap}  this is the area that I will cover.  this is an area that is great stress for planking.  I do all this freehand,  so I have no templates to show.  here I created the stern bulwark.

planking the side bulwarks isolates the next strake,  which will run over this area.  to bend the planking over to the stern stem, without tapering,  it will clinker.  I will fill in the transom.

filling in 1/2 of the area,  it is trimmed so the other side can be added.

with the other side added,  it tidies up the contour of the transom,  and makes it easier to plank.  you'll still need to taper the planking to keep the line straight......this is the key to planking........create a straight line and maintain it.  you will find that some methods work better on different styles of hulls

   one aspect that will never change,  is that the mid ship is always wider than the bow and stern.  tapering,  stealers,  and jogging planks are common tools to use in every form of the art {call it what it is}.  planking is an art...........just look in on some of these logs and you'll see how other folks accomplish it.....some are very good!     the banding method your illustrating is good......a lot of folks use it with great success.  one thing I find with it though,  is that it harder to keep the line,  and tapering to fill in is more common.   I usually start planking from the bulwark down......laying the planking until 'it' tells me that I need to start tapering.  to taper the end,  establish where the taper begins,  and don't exceed 1/2 of the plank width.  if the planking wants to go the other way {away from the plank line forming a gap},  let it........this filler is called a stealer.  if you want to get away from adding in a stealer,  establish where the stealer will begin,  and simply notch the plank at an angle and fit in a short section of planking,  essentially doubling the width of the plank.  as a rule,  this occurs mostly at the bow....but it can occur at the stern as well

sorry for getting carried away......there quite a bit to the art   

thanks Blackreed.......I think we might see some warmer weather up here....last week was nice,.......that is....until it chilled up again.  today wasn't too bad in the afternoon,  so I hope we see more during this week.   I'm thinking of getting the sheer on and finish filling in what joints are visible........then I can see what a resin coat will look like on her     I got the Shapeways order in today....I do feel a bit confused,  as some of the gun parts look small    I dry fitted the tubs into the gun turrets,  and they fit really good..........I just hope I ordered the right ones.  I ordered them in 1:30..........heck!   I'm probably worrying for nothing     the parts look really good!  I'll get some pictures and show yas!

thanks all    a few more bits to go

she came out great Dragzz!   sails are a required taste........some like 'em,  some don't.   yea....you got a little more rigging to do,  but all 'n all,  you did a superb job !   congratz on the finish of your model  

I have that book....along with a few other paperbacks.  it's a good read     the bottom came out looking really good.....now you gotta get the rest of the boat covered,  now that the cut outs are done.   the engine looks really good too!

she's coming along nicely.......    very well done !

tough news on the display case.......I hope you get it sorted out.  reminds me of the time I sent a ship model through the mail.  I built it for my friend Tom in Wisconsin,  back when he owned a Billing Boats distributive warehouse {this was back when I was build'in the Nordkap}.   we had planned it,  that he was making a trip to Mass,  and he would be picking it up.  cool 'cuz we'd get a chance to meet.  the plans fell through,  and he asked me to ship it to him.

   I had my doubts,  but OK.........made sure it was secure in the box......even had it double insulated.  it almost made it there unscathed......the box got jammed on a conveyor belt or something,  and got a bit crushed.   there was not too much damage on the model though,  but he had to get it repaired quickly,  since he was going to use it as a display at a model show.  he fixed it and the show went on without a hitch  

this was in 2011 in Chicago

awesome model James........extremely well done!  

looks really good!  these paper kits are neat  

guess I'm not 'too late' for the party      nice start!

sweet look'in ship!...........WOW!  

I was going to wait till the end to show pictures Carl,  but I still have a little bit more to go still.   here's what I have so far.   the forward sections of railing were added....

on the starboard side,  the other life boat was added.  I also added pulleys to the davits........I broke one,  so one port side davit doesn't have any.  I'll see what I have in the Hood set.....

there are vents aft on the deck on both sides......they were added,  as well as the props and the anchors

then the aft railings..........a feat to get the ca to stick around the stern

the flag staffs have also been added.  more to come.

believe it or not Lou.......it wasn't too hard to do    I couldn't leave them look'in like that.   didn't have to trim them too much either.  I them thought that there should be more of a curve at the top.......so I had to do them both.

thanks for the good word!  

yea...planking can be a bear.......I'm not the best either.  but I've planked quite a few hulls already,  and it DOES get better    good that your checking out methods........it's all part of the learning curve    one thing I try not to do,  is ruin the parts panels that the parts come from.  if a part becomes damaged,  another part can be traced and cut to replace it.  I also use them to create other hulls......just the hulls......and fit out different ships that are similar.

I do recall seeing listed parts from fellow with a similar user name.........you mentioned this earlier....cool      yea......I just got the wood muffler plugs..way too thin to be taken as real    I'd order more......but I'm getting serious rebuttals .........guess I'll be doing a lot of scratch

.........two tool boxes....full of tools.......and no sign of an allen wrench that small!  so I guess the next step would be to visit the local hardware store and see what they got.  I would have been happy to see a 1/4 socket set........or a collection of bits,  that went down that small.  I ended up with a standard and metric combo set.

1.5 mm to 10 mm metric & 0.05 to 3/8 standard.........fingers crossed that one will do the job.   this set was around $16.00.   I do have a 1.5 mm allen wrench,  but it fits sloppy and slips {likely due to wear}.  the 0.05 allen standard is odd.........why not do it in 1/32,  or even 1/64ths?  the actual size of these set screws turned out to be 1/16,  and I was very happy to see there was one in the set.

I also shaped the rudders......not exact,  but I like the way they came out.

I started to fill in some of the seams and joints and do some more sanding.  I also did more sanding on the deck surface,  in prep to lay the deck platform.  I'm beginning to think I should have it in place before I do the resin .......the gap line around the gunwales.  the excess along the stern was also removed,  since it seemed to offset the deck platform forward,  jutting it over the bow.  sanding it flush with the frame,  the platform was dry fitted,  and it was seen that the platforms now jutted over the stern lip.  adding a 1/8th strip connecting the gunwale sides,  cured the overhang perfectly.

to clean up the rest,  I added a strip that joins the clamps too.

side profile of the deck line......

more to come  

looking great Mike!  I've been wanting to mention that I found instructions for the 50 cal and deck gun........found them on the Shapeways site.   you must have gotten the mufflers from there as well.  did your kit have the vacuum form mufflers or wood?.......I got the wood ones......not cool.   I'm thickening them up so I can sand them in the oval shape PT boats are known for.   have you done anything with the rudders and props yet?

thanks Halvor!  feel free to use any of the log you find useful.  it's a fun kit,  and there is some freedom in how you want to fit 'er out.  I generally look at pictures and derive ideas from there.   looking at other logs,  you'll see what I mean about building styles.  create your own style and above all....have fun  

my word Mark........you do such beautiful work    reading through your log was very enjoyable....some very precise work!  glad to finally get caught up with your project......pulling up a chair

not much further to go...........I have been working on her off and on.  I take it as therapeutic.....I turn to it when something else frustrates me  

....am I going about this the right way? 

a nice glossy sealer will make 'er pop!