popeye the sailor

top notch work Daniel.........you do know that the weather is getting better......the misses will want her clothes pins back you never fail to surprise though.....I like the way you rigged them.

looks real good with the stripes! I was curious though.......went browsing at images of her. some pictures had them and some didn't. makes no never mind.........she looks sweet with them on!

all of the kits I've done have been......of course, there are a few parts that need to be done scratch. mostly deck fittings though. good to see the masts fitted in place........and the nice weather you have to show her looking sweet!

I had the same thought about the Cutty.....that would be sweet, I'll bet! thanks for the good word Piet! almost done with the gun deck!

that's what he's talking about Henry.......I need to do the same thing on the United States. they have two different size tan thread in the kit. I like this thread........tried to get some from Revell, but they don't sell it. looking at the rigging instructions, these are the lower sheet and tack lines.

sweet looking hull Ron...bulwarks are very well done

thanks Dave.......I kind of had to plan it.......these strips were not all exact. even a smidge here and there can create gaps. but I did try and utilize as much as I could.......it worked out quite well thanks for the good word. thanks to all of you who used the like button.......I really appreciate it {I keep forgetting....sorry}

I have a few links bookmarked for the Connie.......one is the official site. while it is not shown as hard proof {actual pictures of the ship in that era}, today's Connie does support the fact that she does have gun port lids. this does not conclusively prove that she sported them back then. please consider that you both may be right. I'm afraid to say though that I don't give much credence to sketch drawings or portraits........they contain too much artistic licence. the model's box art should support this as well.........it's a painting too, isn't it? tied to a cleat on the ceiling, is the rope for the top section of the gun port lid. since I could not find any diagrams or pictures of the lids........I looked at pictures that might show them. here is a picture showing the chain plates and dead eye lanyards now, I'm not saying that neither one of you are wrong.........and I'm sure that tucked away in some obscure book, a single paragraph revels whether or not she sported them.......or whether they were split or full size. I amassed a bunch of info in my research into the United States.......even exposed some guy, touting he was taking collections to see her rebuilt. can't say what I called him, but I sent him packing I bookmarked info on the Connie as well.......she'll make a great window into some of the United State's fittings. build her as you see fit...........your well on your way in building a superb looking ship!

this morning, I took care of those three rows that needed to be on the port side. I completed one of them, the other two are about half way there. now......after 31 rows {counting the king plank}.........here is how much of this deck, 25 1/2 strips will cover! I started this with six packs of wood strips {60 strips}. I did the poop deck, the spar deck, and what you see here of the gun deck. this is all I have left......... it's amazing how far they went

thanks David.......more to come, you can be sure thanks and enjoy thanks Frank pro?..........a pro can do this without thinking. right now........my head hurts!

thanks Kieth for the interest.......but in the interest of the topic, I'll let it lay. if there's more to the story......I'll put it in the shore leave, for everyone to weigh in at their leisure. again, thanks for understanding. at one time, I tried to get a Connie kit. I am so sure that the United States kit is a spin-off, I wanted to measure and compare the hulls to see if this is true. you should have seen the admiral's face when I brought up this idea. she doesn't even like the idea that I'm building this one, since she's seen how the wood kits look. it used to be, that when I would bring up the subject of starting the United States, a wood kit would appear.........I guess that appeal has worn off. I figure that if I show her what it will look like integrating wood......she might say yes. as you can see......I'm still working on it. I try not to pull too much of a tantrum.........how can I see stuff, that would spark any ideas, if I'm told to stay in the car

we can thank Peter visser for that little tip: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1469-zeeschouw-by-petervisser-billing-boats-scale-122-small/ I'm gonna check out Hobby Lobby........don't have the time at the moment. what your doing looks very good......I like it!

thanks Patrick, Augie, and John. I was hoping to get more done last night, but I was tired and just vegged at the computer. thanks for the good word! thank you as well keith........yea, I know what you mean. I was looking over the cut stuff yesterday...........I have some good strips, but I also have just as many that aren't as wide. I may be fretting for nothing, considering how much of what I had left covered......I went further than I thought. this is good in a way......I'm hoping that the admiral looks at this, thinks it's not too bad, and then lets me get the Constitution.........love to have both of these ships side by side. I know i'm holding out........I do apologize. I can go two ways with this platform......I can plank it with the thinner strips like I did with the bow, or I can do the same thing I did to the M&M boat.......black and white checker board. I have been dying to try this out. I thought about decaling it.....but I think the little tiles 3 mm x 3 mm would be more challenging. back in the days, when I worked for a garage and did safety inspections, the guidelines were simple. there were still many aspects that would deem deficiencies {too many to name}, but in today's world, with all the changes, I think that the inspectors are becoming way to picky. for example.......our Isuzu failed because a rear axle seal is beginning to weep. there is but a hint that it is there {it's not getting on the disc brake rotor}, but it was enough to fail. in my day, I simply would have told the customer that they need to get this fixed before it gets worse......but I would have put a sticker on it. the big problem I see is......the state and the NHADA want to weed out the vehicles that would pose a danger on our roads......but they allow dealers to sell these cars back to the public. they upgraded the inspection criteria, becoming tougher, and have in place now an updated emissions program to lessen the amount of harmful exhaust.. the NHADA is in place to keep all these dealers on board with all this, and have similar programs out there to promote automotive safety. what I find sad, is that out of the same mouths that tout safety....say that it's OK to flood the playing field with these unsafe cars. we can't rely on the public to be this savvy.......right now, there is some unsuspecting kid, buying one of these cars! the worse scenario....is the kid can't afford the whole amount, and gets a loan for the car {this is what my son did}. even with my trained eye.......this one slipped by me. the other thing that got me, was that he admitted that they did not check out this car...... they just put a $1,200 price tag on it and put it out on the lot! I asked him if the car had any problems........he told me that he didn't know of any...now I see why! there is a simple solution. cars that are over so many miles and age, usually go to auctions. dealers and 'mom & pop' dealers buy these cars.......some fix them up and some don't. cars with structural integrity issues...too far gone to be safe, should not be sold, but rather sent to a yard. they can set these up in various parts of the state. these car can only be sold to body shops and repair facilities, to repair cars that are inspect-able, but are in disrepair. the question as to who will deem these car to be unsafe, should be handled by the auction houses, and the dealer who takes these cars in for trade-in. the dollar value can be determined at that time and a fair price can be administered at the time of sale........be it towards the down payment of a new car, or to someone looking to get rid of their trash {that's basically what a dealer is doing by sending them to auction anyway}. I'm sure everyone knows what an auction is.......I don't think I need to outline the process it will change the playing field, but it will do two things.......it will get these pieces of crap off the lots and force dealers to sell only inspect-able cars, and it will add jobs in New Hampshire. I do envy you in a way Keith.......there are other states that don't require state inspections. I'm not sure what your state has in place, but whatever it is.......please send it up here I know this is a bit off topic, and I do apologize. I did the solution part as I wrote this........I have too many thing rattling around in my head at the moment.....this helped me to reason it out. I do ask that you don't have me remove it....it would please me to think that others will see it. thank you for letting me vent.

sorry to hear about the injury. rest and heal up......i'll be watching

today.........more running around........but I got quite a bit done as well on the deck. I had a bit more than 25 of the 3 mm strips left.......I have to divide them evenly between the two sides, and then I'll use the strips I cut to finish them off. I'm doing this in case they turn out to be less than 3 mm......they won't too noticeable along the edges. judging where I was at..........I did about 12 rows on the port side looking at what I had left.......I had better move on to the starboard side. I hope I have enough to equal the port side when I was done.......there was a little over three strips left........I had done 15 rows on the port side. the clothes pins you see, are at work....helping me to eliminate a couple of serious ripples. I'm hoping that by laying the planks, the wet glue will seep into the wood and cure the problem. if you look close, there are a couple on the port side, at about the same places.......I'll be doing them as well. I clamped the deck to the table as well, to keep it from curling {even with the added supports, it was still doing this}. these are probably the largest decks I have ever done.........and I'm using planking strips, that in my opinion, are more 'in scale' than the deck strips you get in most kits. at the bow, I used some of the thinner pieces of the strips that I cut.........the center plank stayed the same as the rest of the deck. I trimmed them soon after they were dry, so they wouldn't get broken off prematurely. looking toward the stern end, you'll see another plank line that is rather thin. I had to shim the entire length back.......it originated at one of the holds. it was done just to keep the line straight. it's good that most of it won't be seen, being that far past the large central hold. I will see what I can get done tomorrow.......I had high hopes to get this all done today. I hope that tomorrow is a good day.......it was cloudy most of today....slightly humid. I'm dying to see how this will look! I almost forgot.......I have a plan for the galley floor platform at the stern......I don't want to say much, for fear that I can't pull it off. But, if I can.......

saw this little tidbit browsing on line today.......it made me smile http://www.cnbc.com/id/101676661 there.......that seems to look better.......did it off the front page, and the thread string looked kinda long. anyway..........what have I been up to? well.........making myself bug eyed planking the gun deck! I actually began this Monday evening, when I decided what I was going to do, which was make the jig and cut that extra thin stock down. I did the king plank and marked off all.......yes all...of the butt joint lines. then......on Tuesday, I was in and out trying to remedy Kevin's car woes. I helped him pick out a car {about a week ago now}. he had it inspected and it was told to him that he had bought a junk car! it had some of the usual problems...wipers and tires. the big problems were frame rot and undercarriage rot, that I wouldn't have seen, unless I had it on a lift! I checked it out.....I admit it.......it looked good to me from what I could see. I cannot believe that our state laws are written the way they are.......they say that it is OK for anyone to sell an unfit car in New Hampshire. I e-mailed the NHADA {New Hampshire automobile dealer association} with my complaint and views of this practice. I got a reply, giving me the link where I can lodge a formal complaint, providing the dealer is a member of the NHADA. we also contacted the Attorney General......we got the same spiel. I'm not done yet......this is so wrong on every spectrum. well........anyway....... the rest of my time was spent on defining the center line of the deck, boxing in all of the holds. this took me right into the evening..........oh, and I did mow the back yard lawn

the more I see....the deeper in awe I get! truly awesome work!

Well, I'm glad you've got artificial lighting.........with natural light, you'd have an indoor swimm'in pool! the decks look great...the seal coat will tell the whole story they look awesome though! sorry to hear about the weather........we're just getting over our wet spell. the weather here has turned a bit better. take care.....and don't go trust'in those ponds!

nice to see your making progress John......the frame is looking good.

I was wondering if that single frame had siblings......nice to see the confirmation..........very nice

looking super Den.........I see a lot less coils on there. very nice!

very nice J.........sady, the Billings kit doesn't have these...the lion's heads nor the ladders. I do plan to make the ladders........I think I'll take a look at Hobby Lobby, to see what they might have in the jewelry section. awesome stuff there!

sometimes it's good during a light rain..........keeps the bugs close to the water

awesome job there!..........she's looking pretty sweet!

thanks Tom! Frank..........your awesome!.........do you know that! your too much Keith! next time I do that......I'm going to change the blade direction, to cut sideways. it hit the bar in the back. at the moment, I'm planking the gun deck.......hope to have it done soon. update soon! love your sense of humor......thanks!