popeye the sailor

you should have all three shrouds done before you do your ratlines is the third one a back stay? three shrouds for the fore mast, and four shrouds for the main mast. back stays are interesting depending on the vessel your working on. some are tensioned with dead eyes, but for most vessels, they are usually done with a pulley assembly. the stern decorations look very nice.......your 1 up on me with the carving your putting some very nice character in this build. I also notice how you did the futtock shrouds..........in conjunction with the second step dead eyes? did you cement them into the tops? if you didn't, I would suggest that you do. when you rig your second step shrouds, they will in turn pull on the futtock ropes and contort the first step shrouds. I'm not sure if your diagram show this......this of course, depends on the detail that they show........where the futtocks lash to the first step shrouds, there is a stave there {it can be of wood or thin brass rod...of course painted black}. this holds the shrouds together at that point, and provides a lash point for the futtocks. joining these two stave points together, in there between the shrouds, are ropes called carthpins {I hope I spelt and said this right}. these control how much tension that the futtocks put on the shrouds and stop them from pulling the shrouds out of shape.......they will to a very minor degree, due to rope stretch I figured I'd give you this bit of information......if you cemented in the second step dead eyes, you won't need to add it, if you don't want to. sounds like your doing a bit of bash work on you own......and that's a good thing these smaller kits do omit some cool detail, and information that you acquire, will allow you to add them in. this is also the best way to learn terms and names of different parts. I'm not an expert either..........I remember the first ship I did.......{I don't want to talk about it} keep going.....your doing some nice work here

recover well...Sherry

think of it as a 'labor of love' ........it won't sting so bad your almost there Mark......laminating wood....hmmmm. sounds like a neat idea

looks good Nenad........nice spacing and the pins are just a bit forward! that's all you'd really need to do once all the ropes are tied and rigged.........it will never bee seen! great work my friend ....and BTW.........your no dummy!

sorry if I join the party late Patrick.........I've not had my 'browse time' like I used to sweet looking hull shell......the way you made it was pretty interesting. card build frame? good to have gotten those bulkheads in there...... humidity and dryness can play nasty tricks. I look forward in seeing more progress

sure George.......I got 'em timed to fly over, once I get'em installed! I'm really not that much of a detailer......I try to do some, but later on, I think it looks messy, so I clean it up guess I'm the Felix Unger of boats {doesn't say much about my table though} sounds like you know a bit about them Augie........yes......"birds" is the nickname given to them. when deployed....it's kinda like a tightrope walker....except it on water. keeps the vessel steady, so she don't rock it's one of the reasons why I chose to do this one Nils.......the structure is so cool thanks Patrick, John, and Lawrence........hard to imagine that this is another vessel's hull. to think......just a bit of modification. at the moment, I'm putting that bit of detail, that the Billing's kit doesn't show. thanks to all of you and who hit the like button.......hope to have more soon

put more work into the stabilizers booms.....the ends are tapered. once I made heads or tails out of 'em, a block was cemented on the end that will fasten to the deck. this block will be rounded, and later a hole will be drilled I mentioned that I would show what the 'anchor' look like did most of the boom work on Tuesday..........did a bit more on Wednesday. there are two pairs of brackets that the stabilizers are attached to........I tried to make them using brass.......even bought some thicker stuff for the occasion. these are two diagrams that show the booms and the aft section of the rig. now .......for these 'anchors'.......I got an idea. let's see if someone else thinks of the same thing I did to make these brackets I speak of......I took apart one of the spare gallows I have hanging around. I will use one of the uprights as a template. I found that doing this in the house is going to be an impossible feat! first off....I have a son that works at night and sleeps during the day. I attached the vise to the main table......big mistake...the hammering sets everything to vibrating......and falling off of high places........not to mention the displeasure the admiral has expressed. in the kit, these parts are made of wood.......that's not going to happen here. I have a remedy......went to HobbyTown yesterday afternoon. I picked up a new pin vise and found something suitable.....show you next time I picked these up a while ago, thinking they might come in handy here.

it's because you love a challenge! the comparison looks great Dave.......they look so sweet together!

I was a bit rushed when I posted last. the Revell kit confuses some.........on the bulwark cap rails, there are tabs that suggest where the dead eye racks {that's what I'll call them} are to go.......but this is wrong. I was going to look at the instructions again {I keep all my past build instructions}......but if I remember, there are tab holes on the pin rails them selves. this is where they actually go. I mention this, because it is in line with your dilemma. it would be a small sacrifice......but you could make the pin rails a little wider, and locate the dead eyes close to the bulwark, and set the belaying pins toward the front of the dead eye arrangement. this would free up the pins and make rigging a bit easier. the toggle of 1 - 2 mm would make a big difference, and wouldn't upset the applecart. in the modeling medium, we all strive to build the perfect build. what we see is measured in inches and feet.........what we build is measured in fraction and mm.......sometimes the tolerance is so tight, that we must alter the structure a little to make it work. I hear so many lament that they are off a mm.........that silly mm.........it's time to make that silly mm work in your favor....and not in the favor of mistake. sorry if it sounds like a rant........it's not.......it's logic

thanks Sjors.........I really need to get the update out of the camera.....again they are stuck I'll try to get them up appreciate the good word and the likes!

looking pretty good to me John has a nice look to them.....

I think it's nice......there are a couple variations there.....in the picture, the first two show an inner bulwark wall. look at the third and fourth, and there are no Inner bulwark walls........you can see the ribbing. your last picture show that you've made openings in the inner walls.......what are they for?

so much to think about........I ran into somewhat of a dilemma with this on the Revell Cutty Sark as well. it's really good to see all this being brought to light enjoying your log Nenad

WOW! so many cool options.......I really appreciate the suggestions! I think outside the box so much......I forget which side I'm on sometimes! I'll post a picture to show you what they look like thanks for the offer Tom.....I'll PM you should I get stuck! Nenad........ thanks for the hunting and fishing tips.......I got plenty of relatives that live in the stix........{where I'd rather be}. 00 buck....slugs......loved my 'ole 12 gauge, god 'ole 'point 'n shoot' ! motto: "you don't miss, with this!"

nice cabin interior......when I saw your last picture of her, I was going to ask if you were putting in deck supports. I didn't bother though...I knew you would didn't want to ask a pointless question super job so far!

thanks George and Bob..........thanks as well to all who hit the like button I'm going to look around for something that will work. the way these 'anchors' are made, I would need flat pieces........which would mean melting down weights to make a flat sheet. if I find it as my only resort....then I guess it's what I'll need to do. the idea with this is to give them the weight they need.......the cables that they are attached to are run through pulleys........so this suggests that they can be manipulated...lowered. they could very well be used as anchors, if the need arose. I probably could even get away with using solder...I have a whole roll of it. we shall see......we shall see thanks all!

this is going to be interesting.....doing ratlines at this stage of the rigging. don't believe I've ever seen it before sails are looking great Nils.........such beauty!

amazing!!! super work there Michael!

oh.......I also laughed at Midwest's idea to use cotter pins as well have you found any other use for them, other than to hold a wheel on?

great progress Piet from when I last looked in again.....you amaze me with your brass work! love the way you assembled your blocks!

it was a pleasure J.........go ahead......rub it in ! yea.....I know...I gotta get off my flat spot and get moving. you've given me lots to think about......again.......good job, my friend!

very nice .........a very unique life boat! really neat to see them in a 'school'

nice work on the shrouds so far.......is there really a solid rule? the order I follow most of the time would be fore stays....then the shrouds. I also see that your doing the assembly per mast step........which is also a good approach {I'm the knucklehead that's still assembling the entire mast...and then rigging }. would doing the fore stay after the shroud...add too much tension to the shroud? I wouldn't think so, if your careful with how much tension you use. the foremast lower fore stay is a dead eye pulley assembly anyway, so it would be easy to adjust the tension, keeping as close to the + side of zero tension as possible. the shrouds should be taught, so the ratlines can be done. your making some good progress........I hope others chime in and give their views on this as well. from the diagrams I see in the background.......you have some unique rigging ahead of you

Friday......I felt restless.....that and I needed some strip stock. I would have preferred 1/32 X 1/32 strip, but I ended up settling for 1/16 {I'll need to sand anyway } the admiral and I went to Hobby Lobby...I like to bring her along. it gives us some 'out time' and she's quite helpful with bouncing ideas back and fourth. I remembered that I needed beads for the floatation buoys......I need to make five or six of them. I was in one isle.......I found some that would work, but I would need to drill out the holes, since they are not the same diameter as the dowels I had gotten. I was looking at a couple of other types, when I heard the admiral ask if these would work..........I headed over to where she was. looking at what she had found.......they were slightly larger than what I had found {not by much though}......but the holes going through them was PERFECT!!! there are more than enough in the package.......if I choose to do a couple extra......I can! the spools are just something I saw that I might have a use for later.......ya never know they're the smallest I've seen so far......I'm always on the look out for these things. once we got home.......I couldn't wait to try the assembly out. it looks good! again, there are no measurements for them, so I will have to size them to the rack. these booms that I refer to, are actually known as stabilizers. for such an elaborate design, the only function for them, is to keep the boat from rocking side to side. they have weights on them and can be deployed......lowered and spread out further, to add mass to the boat, depending how rough the seas are on a given day. I need to find some lead sheet, or strips, in order to make the 'anchors' to tether off of them. I know that lead has been somewhat outlawed for use in plumbing and other hardware uses.......it used to be found in rolls. perhaps I can find it pertaining to the 'soapbox car' medium, those little cars made from wood......I see them all over the place. they even have kits for them I digress........sorry.....my mind loves to wander anyway, it may have been better to notch these squares, but I didn't want to cause a calamity......making a hundred of them, just to get eight good ones......so I took the much easier route. sanding should make them look better...here is the first one. then I made the other one. I did manage to defeat quite a bit of the curvature......just a tiny bit of deflection remains. enough that I'm happy with it I snapped a couple of pictures to show a friend of mine at work......he lives in Maine and has been around these boats. he also has a book on the Andrea Gail....he's going to try and find it for me. he was quite impress with what I've done, stating how spot-on it looks. the only thing we didn't get into was the rigging.......but we can talk further, now that he's seen where I am with it. the kit instructions really doesn't shed much light on it.

So.....the fuel drums are pretty much finished at this point. it may have been better to do most of them the same, with a few odd balls, but I did say I wanted to add color to the dominant white thinking the idea here is that these drums were picked up over a long period of time........in the kit, they show that they are all painted the same...... is anyone familiar with the song "little boxes" by Pete Seger? on with other aspects of the build........ I began to make the rudder......three layers of flat stock, the center one segmented for the shaft that will run through it. sanding and shaping is the next step for it......the rear section of the trawl rig was next to be made. the instructions give no measurements for it, so I had to gauge it to the first section I made. in the kit, it shows that it is a fixed assembly.......I wonder if it is actually hinged, so the height is adjustable? the little squares that are next to it, is another aspect that I will be working on. there are no measurements on these as well........so they are also gauged with the height of the trawl assembly. I cut two lengths of dowel a bit taller that the trawl rig. these 'brackets' will be skewered onto the dowels, segmenting it in four places. being hard to find true and straight dowels......with the next step of the assembly, I will have to try and work the bends out....somehow. this is some of the work I did last Friday........finally got the pictures out of the camera.....it gets more interesting down the road