popeye the sailor

now that I have these little baubles........I guess I better figure out a good way to drill the holes in 'em. I made up a block of wood, with a tape across the span, to stick them on. I first tried to use a prick punch to center the holes in the mouths. all that did was make an impression in the wood. I then thought that if I drilled a shallow well for them to lay in, I might be able to drill the holes from the back. that had only limited success..........I was in the center......in line with the mouth, but would tip causing me to go off course. lucky for me I have ten of them to work with a drill press would be good to have for this......but I don't have one, so I needed to come up with another plan. I took my triangular file, and made a flat spot in the mouth area........I have some dental bits, and I used the smallest one to drill a well in the mouth, as a guide for the drill. drilling the holes was as far as I got with 'em at the moment. I'm hoping I can get her back out and do a bit more ...........still need to do the paint and clear coat before I can continue on.

I took Monday off with the idea of putting some mileage on my builds......it didn't go as planned. I did do a little though, giving some thought to the funnel. I have a rectangular block of balsa.....getting an idea of the height, I cut off about an inch or so. I took it out to the garage........flipped the belt sander over, and commenced with shaping it. since I bordered out the template for the helm, and cemented on the front and side walls, three more pieces of strip stock was laid down within the template, so a floor can be laid down. I also cut some wedges to serve as the dash supports. here is the dash and floor fitted in place. I'm going to do something with the helm interior, but with the small windows, I don't think I'll be going hog wild with it. I'll save the craziness for the other builds I have on the roster.

I found this tool when I was setting up the cellar, after we moved here. it looks old.....don't have a clue how old it is, but I've hung on to it. when I rearranged the garage the other day, I mistakenly threw it out! I managed to retrieve it before the trash collectors came.....whew! Piet is correct....you could use anything that has multiple teeth like this.

nice bit of progress.......the mines will look great when painted looking forward in seeing all this come together. are you going to try fitting them before you go off on your trip?

I have a scrap bin.........and scrap bags with separated woods, to cut down on sifting through it all. the bags that some of the parts come in are very handy. they keep me honest, in my pack rat ways

can you find a perforation wheel.......this will give you better uniformed riveting. the rivets would look better if they protruded, and not sunk in. to give it a more subtle rivet look........make the rivet lines and then roll something over them after to flatten them back down again. this will produce the bumps, without being pointy looking

excellent progress Mark..........very nice!

looking really nice Augie........I see the holds are marked out...are they all marked like that? checker board floor....is that what your planning?

sounds like a good plan Gary........wish I could do it at this time. I have plenty to do at the moment.....perhaps by then, my finances will be more open for me. I'll keep it in mind

looking good Piet! the mine and the pulleys are really cool!

thanks for the good word Vivian.....glad to see your following along. I hope your feeling better the detail that these little parts lent to the model is quite visible, in comparing the rigging diagrams side by side. perhaps one day......one build, I can come up with a ship that is as close to accuracy, as some of the builds that I've seen. I know I don't possess some of the skills, that these accomplished modelers do, but I'm sure there's a way to work around them and compensate. I'd like to think that any model company would extend a hand, and help the modeler, no matter what the project is, they're working on. I think that it's good public relations, and if they weren't, they wouldn't be selling the accessories to build them. one thing I do find strange........but I understand why......is that at no time during our exchange.......no name was given for the person I dealt with. I like to at least know who I am dealing with.....the name to the face thing, but in this case, I guess it's not important. at the bottom of post #695, I copied and pasted the bottom comment to an e-mail, adding that I received the parts and thanked them again, and e-mailed it off to Corel. I thought they deserved the courtesy and kudos. I wasn't expecting a reply, but I got one...thanking me for the e-mail and have a nice day in all my days working with plastic, never had I such re-pore, as I have dealing with companies, working with wood thanks Mark........I guess I'm a lucky guy. so often, I've read where folks have run into problems in their builds, ordered part from the company that makes their kit.....never gets a reply, or takes a month of Sundays to get their replacements. I did a little bit of customer service for Tom @ Billings....you would not believe what some folks write. glad I'm not like that I'm no stranger to simply making another part, or running around in craft stores.......I've even ordered parts and paid for them. if it's an honest mistake, that's one thing, but I have better things to do, than cry over spilt milk boy!.......your going to be one busy guy Gary! I wish I had the money to get the Titanic.....or even the Warrior! I had asked Tom if I could get a copy of the plans for the Warrior.....but that was a while ago. the Wasa {Vasa} and the Norske Love is on my list as well, but they are still out of my price range actually, I have quite a few parts diagrams already..........all I would need to do is have them blown up to a much larger scale......that might be fun to do! you've done some splendid work Gary....keep up the good work! I haven't done anything Mantua yet.....you never know! one of these days, I hope to see my way towards getting an order to Roger @ Ages of Sail.......I see he did a slight revamp on the Billing USA site......good to see he's still running it

thanks Gary.......kinda scares me to think this is a 'miracle on 34th street' moment I'm just grateful they did it.......my next kit may be a Corel kit.......least I can do my dealings with Billing's has been very good..........Tom was very good about things when he owned the business.......I guess I can add Corel to the list. the only one I wasn't impressed with was Midwest.

thanks Augie..........now I'm going to have a hybred! thanks to you as well J..........you showed them first these are for the sheet tack ropes......there should be rigging for all three. in looking at the plan above....the first one will tie at the main sail, the middle one will rig through a block ties to the corners of the fore sail, and the one at the stern will rig through a block tied to the corners of the main sail. there is no sail on the lower mizzen, just the lanteen sail. there is a yard further up the mizzen, but that will be rigged with braces {steering ropes}. there are only six, but Corel sent me ten of them. if you want to compare the Billing's rigging diagrams with yours, simply go to the Billing's site......you can download the whole kit and kaboodle

yepper Frank! I should have done this in the first place, but then again, I like the scavenger hunts. I tend to look more closely at stuff and get ideas, when there something to look for.

much better Sjors.........the galley badges look great! much better than the fashion statement you were making earlier..........or were you being 'unique' ? nice fix!

well.......I seem to have a renewed sense of direction on this build. true.....the weather hasn't been my friend.......but it seems to have turned for the better! I have to do my painting in the garage...the temp and the rain has done a nice job of hampering me.......until now there was also another factor that dogged me...a key piece of detail that I was determined to find. it all starts with a build of the Half Moon, done by jct......here on the site. I am enjoying his build, and since it is a Corel kit, we have had a great time exploring all the differences with the two kits. he got to the point of prepping out the sheave rope decorations that line the hull, and I took a step back. the Billing's kit doesn't have them! they are not listed in the parts list.......and not even shown on the plans. I tried to look for these decorations in craft stores........but to no avail. I even tried a few jewelry stores, and got the look........like I was some kind of nut! with this scavenger hunt, a complete bust, I went with my last resort. I contacted Corel........I downloaded parts of their catalog, and I found the complete fitting kit for the Half Moon. I told them that I was working on Billing's kit and that I wanted to purchase the sheave decorations - part # D-228......if necessary, I would be willing the purchase the entire fitting kit. they e-mailed me the next day, asking for my address.........they were going to send me the sheave decorations....at no charge! free!! holy cow!.......you could have knocked me over with a feather! I sent them my address, and soon after, another e-mail came saying that they were in the post. they sent them on the 28th of May, and I got them yesterday, the 2nd of June I should have put a coin by them to show you how small they are........about 5 mm x 4 mm. I will need to drill the sheave holes in them, in prep for paint..........but this is small effort, if you take into consideration the added visible detail, they will give to this build! my thanks to you Corel! you reaffirm my belief that once a kit is purchased, it becomes the builder's kit, and it is his {or her} interpretation, that guides the outcome of the model. even though the kit isn't one of your design, I am grateful that you chose to help the modeler achieve, what the kit could not.

yea....chuck would know better.........but I've done it with stain. not much on the rag though.....you don't want to soak it.

good to hear your feeling better.....I'll look forward in seeing your progress.

thanks Pete...........saw your Mayflower build.......simply beautiful work I thought I could do a little on this one yesterday.......but I got carried away on other things. thanks for the good word!

finally caught up to one of your builds..........such a fine looking vessel! considering what I've seen of your work in the past {I have your site bookmarked}.....sounds like a very good idea it would be a shame to see this one laid to waste! beautiful work!

whooooa Baby.............she looks swell! very nice deck fittings the windlass is the best......quite functional in it's design. nice!

considering the scale of your build Russ.........they look very good!

thanks for all the likes.......I really appreciate it thanks Bob.......hulls will always need plans.......no getting around it! fitting them out though, there's a lot more freedom. I like these types of trawlers......I'll see how much I can put into her. I liked what the admiral told me.......I took the day off! thanks Pete and John........I didn't plan it, but the depth of the window frames are the same thickness as the flat stock! I'm lov'in that! I brought the top section of my tool box home from the shop. now I need to get it out of the SUV......but first I need to make a rolling cart for it {it has a top lid that opens}. all's fun here at the wharf....if I ain't build'in one thing........it's another thanks all for the good word!

....and everyone thinks that third times the charm isn't it funny how, you do something......it looks great. a while later, you look at it again, and you see room for improvement. it looks so much better Daniel........your paving a road for so many folks! anyone who follows this build, will surely take the correct paths nice!

it looks great Sjors........but I'm afraid I have to agree with the consensus. perhaps you can remove them and swap them around? I have a crystal ball.......{actually, it's a clear marble}........I see a reno in your future I'm sure you can fix it