popeye the sailor

the curve along the outside of the rails isn't a problem......what of the inside curve? a tiny triangle of material is cemented in place there, and will be sanded to a curved contour. the paint work is done. I found that the paint stuck quite well.......I was able to mask it off with the scotch tape, pulling none of it off when removing it after wards. more work done to the rudder, thickening it up now I'll have to see what's still in the camera

yes.......this was inevitable......tried to stall it till I did a test on this, but I guess there's no better time to see if paint will stick to stain. the stain has been dried for quite some time on the hull. I began with the transom, setting the back drop for the decorations. I have no flats in blue.........I'm working with what I have. I will be using a flat clear coat, I'm pretty sure that it will even everything out. the sides of the stern was next. I was having some trouble getting the Frog tape to stick, so I took to using scotch tape, which did a good job of it. any bleeding that occurred, will be covered by the rails, laid over the seams. this color green closely matches the picture.......it's an old bottle of Testor's paint. the old label.....it doesn't even tell you what the color is. since it is hard to bend a plank strip sideways, I'm having to do a bit of assembly to the rails. the inclines have a rounded appearance, so I'll have to create curves rails to fit them. these are the top rails. I haven't forgotten about the rudder........I began to plank one side, but I found that it will be too thin for the keel stem. I'll need to beef it up a bit. the yellow is a model master color...British armor sand {something like that}...closely matches the color of the middle strip. and then the blue again, which is a Billing's color...Mediterranean blue. I used the same color on the transom......don't be fooled by the light refraction. for the fore deck's outer hull, the colors are reversed, and only the sand and blue.

thanks Patrick and Bob........there's more paint to go now that we're back on line, I can post the latest pictures.

thanks Evan....that will save me some work as well. you've confirmed the yellow stripe too I really like those pictures!

looks really nice.........don't see any reason why you couldn't do bulwark stanchions {posts}. is there to be a cap rail on the bulwarks? you had to frame in the walls for the cabin.....and so you did beam for the upper deck. is there to be a fore cabin or deck? if so, then this will require posts, framing, and beams to support an upper deck (if there is to be one). looking in has a very homy feel to it......nice work!

Michael........the Metal Maniac......hmmmmm, has a nice ring to it sweet stuff!

you got 'em studdering now Doris.......very well done......{big thumbs up!}

thanks Lawrence.......I'm looking forward to it........don't believe I've ever rigged a ship of this era before. ....and there will be crow's feet! :D

slow and fun are synonymous with these builds John.........in my case, I open a box and they come flying out. but, in your case.....they must come out of the wood work she looks great so far

thanks John and Sherry....doing some more painting at the moment. I'll be glad when the hull work is complete and I can get some clear coat on her thanks for the good word!

not too sure about the lids, but if you find that they weren't there in that period......

thanks Bob....first time doing a bow like this thanks to you as well, Nenad!

the starboard side was cemented in place......then I got busy with the port side the stand was stained and felt was put on for the time being. when I clear coat it, I put some better stuff on. both sides are on now

thanks Augie!!

thanks Patrick.........there's still a bit more to go I was wondering when I was going to be asked that........yes! actually, I'm looking for a good spot to wrap up what I'm doing, so I can get on the Gothenborg. thanks for the good word......if I can get this one on the other table, I'll see where I can go from there I'll have to do a couple of close ups of the nests.....I think that's their good side :D

this session, the bow got some work done on it. the plug had been removed from under the grating frames, and the decoration was pressed into place. it fit tight enough, that I did add any glue.....I figure the clear coat will do the job for me. the thin strip for the grating was stained and cut to shape the trail boards are a bit different in the pictures. weighing it out, I chose to go with the kit supplied boards, encasing them in a frame of their own. they need to be alter a little to fit well on the bow. working with the starboard side first, the inner side was stained. then the holes were covered with scotch tape, trimmed to fit and pressed in place. on the outer side, scotch tape was laid over it and the center was trimmed out. it was then painted with Mediterranean blue........unfortunately, it's a gloss.........the clear coat is a flat, so I'm hoping it dulls it out

Holy cow! I just realized that I hadn't posted last Friday's pictures! basically, it was aimed at setting the mast collars so I could stain the masts. the mizzen has already been done.....once it's set in place, it won't move. to set the main and fore mast though, I had to come up with a pair of jigs for the proper rake. it took a while to do......a lot of checking, at different angles. from the bow, all of the masts are in line with each other.......I tried to take this as dead on as possible. the main mast has almost the same rake as the mizzen mast........the fore mast has what I would call a negative rake.....leaning toward the bow. the jigs are quite simple, and once the masts were set, the collars were tacked with a touch of CA. it only took a couple of minutes for the glue to set....I was able to pull the masts. the jigs were then broken apart to remove them from the masts. the collars were then glued from the bottoms, so that there weren't too many blotches. the masts were then stained with the dark walnut....and then done with the mahogany, for the reddish tone. I still need to do the other parts I've stained earlier. the mizzen and bow spirit I was hoping you could see better, how the nests came out......they are a bit blotchy. I figure that I'll touch them up before I give them the clear coat......I'll need to experiment a little.

very nice job on the hawse hole.......now I see what you were getting at

looks great Augie.......I had not heard about doing this before. it makes sense though, especially if the build being worked on requires added bulwark posts. very nicely done

I'm also doing the Revell U.S.S. United States. in those plans they have the hull stripe as yellow, which is what I'm going to do. on my first build, I did it white. looked good, but I think the yellow will add to the build nicely. the Revell kit doesn't have the split gun port lids....this would be detail....too big for Revell to ignore. they have them as full lids. I haven't been in the box recently......but I don't recall a figurehead. I wanted to get the Connie kit as well, but the admiral kinda went hay-wire on me.....so I guess that's a bust the Revell United States kit is a spin-off of the Connie kit........I wanted to see if the United States was larger. she was a bit bigger than the Connie.....mostly in the stern area....the addition of the poop deck and additional living spaces. oh....oh! I hope I didn't plant a seed.......but really, you made that keel......you have the original one......it would be nothing to make up some extra ribs and hull parts. the President and the Connie mirrored each other close enough.....it can be done. whatever you choose to do, I'm sure you'll have a fun time with it. your amassing some really good info there......your well on your way!

always wondered why they did that....cripes, some of them come in a big enough box! but, man.......wouldn't that be a thought! you could do the Constitution and the President, all in one go! pretty much the same rigging and all. sorry.....I have a problem with my imagination.......always seems to get away from me you'll do fine.....I know you will!

.......and we can hear it.....first hand! poor Anja.........probably running 'round the house with her hands over her ears where are the pictures........{just thought I'd rub it in }

I felt I had to answer that one Dee Dee.........shemp, and Joe are relatives of the main characters. Joe is also Curly's middle name. Shemp Howard {Moe's brother, I believe} and Joe Fife {Larry's cousin}. those are the only two added characters that I know of.....I used to watch them alot! I'll be glad when I can correctly name those builds, although with the ideas I've been getting, I'm beginning to have doubts about the third one. how are you coming along on your neat little build........should be masting her pretty soon, I would imagine. green fish!........get yer green fish here! much better than the blue food they're trying to feed us! :D

oh great! now we can stand outside of Sjor's house, and all we'll hear is pfffff.....pffffff......pffffff!

why are you cutting another frame center {keel}? is the original one warped?..........or are you creating an armada? dropping in........definitely the kit! after seeing how well you did the Niagara, I'm sure you'll do a great job on this one. what your doing right now is pretty interesting.......although I tend to use the parts panels to trace out the parts. for whatever reason your doing this, it's gotta be cool!