popeye the sailor

looks super Sjors! not worries about starting the Aggie on time.........building that hull frame will be a nice diversion from rigging {at least that's what I kept telling myself :D }

I will Wayne........although I got only a little done today. I'll pull double shift tomorrow..........promise!

is not the real thing, the look your going for? your doing fine

never a dull moment with the life of a sailor see you when you get back Andy.

thanks John.........say that to my fingers though.........they are beginning to get permanent dimples from all the pins :D I have gotten further with their planking........although not as fast as I would like. I'm using the pins with the round heads......the bad thing is that when I go to pull them out.......the round heads come off. I have so many that this has happened to....I'm just throwing them out. I bought a container of what they call 'map pins'.......they are much shorter than what I'm currently using. the oak plywood isn't bad at all....the pins go in easily due to the soft core. The hull dubbed Moe though is a bit harder, being made totally of the regular plywood. I did manage to get out there.......an attempt to do a little scavenger hunting, but I was amazed at how fast the stores are switching gears. the Christmas displays are almost gone at the Hobby Lobby I frequent.........only 2 - 3 isles, compared to what there was a few weeks ago. I took a tour through the doll house stuff as well, only picking up the last two remaining packages of hinges......and a package of some really cool molding, that I will find use for. I have the site bookmarked that Andy had posted to Tom, on his build, so I'm not out in the cold in that dept. it does worry me that I may have to wait, to get the finer details, but it won't stop me from getting the majority of the boats built.......most of this will come from nautical sites......the obvious parts. the display of flat stock had been ravaged as well. they had plenty of Balsa sheeting........but I don't want to use that....way too soft for me. I found only two sheets of the 1/16 x 4 x 24 basswood.......I looked to see if they carried wider stuff.......but no dice! so, I ended up buying 12 of the 3 inch wide sheets. I haven't looked at how I'm going to to set up the deck platform jig yet........that will better tell me how the sheeting will be cut. one thing is for sure.......they won't have that hole in the middle of the deck :D Ahhhhhh..........but what of that cover, I had made for the Boulogne? this kinda kills the intent I had for it, but you never know....it could serve quite nicely as a pilot house roof! the purchase of this wood.......I toast to my younger son, Kevin. his Christmas present to me this year was a $100.00 gift card to Hobby Lobby.........his heart, bigger than his brain. he also made it a point to go with me when I went......I can tell he still has a desire to get into some sort of hobby. I told him, it didn't matter what his interest is in.....He'd have loads of fun in whatever he chose........plastic models........model rocketry.....HO scale trains or cars. we made the rounds,,,,we had a great time

the deck is looking real good now John........all the detail bits look great! looking more and more like a whaler now!

I need to order more of the .5 mm thick planking sooner or later. I've done a couple of my builds using planking that is over 1 mm thick, and I found it a bit cumbersome.......they don't behave as well in conforming to the deck curvatures. the only thing I've noticed with using the thin strip, is the moisture content in the white glue I use, tends to cause the strip to curl a little......you need to keep pressing them down as they dry. I agree with you Dragzz........you use what you have........I just thought I'd point out something I realized........here I am doing a smaller scale build, and I'm still planking with 5 mm wide strip.....something funny there to me.......I think this is something that is overlooked at times......either a person would like to enhance their build in this way.........or the thought of this process taking twice as long to do....changes their minds.

that's the spirit Kevin!!! the one thing about plastic I hated.....all the pin marks and impressions. I use the Testors putty. the last tube I bought, must have been on the shelf a long time.......I had to knead the hell out of the tube. so much, in fact, that the crimp on the end began to come undone! the other sad fact is that I don't use it too much....I'll probably end up having to do it all over again. your kit doesn't look too bad though.......I haven't seen too much of it so far

are you going to do scale planking? one thing I always see in a kit, is that they always include .5mm planking, that is 5 mm wide. if it were to be scale planking, they might have been better to include 2 - 3 mm wide planking. as far as cutting the length goes.....I take the easy way out....I cut them to the length of two ribs. I draw lines at each rib......sometimes I will draw lines in the centers between each one as well. I do a center line down the middle for the king plank{s}. you can't really go by these measurements though......even the manufacturer can be a bit off with these measurements. then you could mass produce the planking and do the calking around the edges. I use an archive pen for that......India Ink. I have used crayon as well....but it's a bit messy.

super progress Piet......I had to re-read......in the back of my mind, I was thinking that it would be a bear to get that hatch cover and inner tub detail done with all that in place your dad must really be smiling by now!

glad to see your recent work Doris. sorry to hear that you were sick...hope your feeling better. again you show us that there is another setting on the detail telescope.......such beautiful work! keep modeling Doris......and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

good to see you found a remedy for your problem......it worked out great, I see look forward in seeing her fully planked.

guess I forgot to hit that button again........no matter, just glad you've got your power back .

must have been hard to drill.......and leave such a thin wall! very nice! .......good photo of those shields.....sooooo thin

impressive.........love it!!!!!! :)

something like that Nenad, will most likely get lost when you get the deck fitted out........trust me. small mistake, in contrast to what you've been trying to put into this build..........keep going and try not to look back! it reminds me of what I did one time: I owned a duplex.........the apartment next door was empty, so I took the time to make some improvements. one of them was the stairs outside.......I planned, I measured the hell out of this thing, and it came out looking like crap! a week or so later, someone wanted to rent it.......I had to work like a fiend to correct the stairs. I just threw it together......it came out perfect! your doing a wonderful job on this build.......your learning some really valuable lessons here. your next scratch build will be so much better for it.!

yea.......you can't feel that way Kevin, we are all modelers of particular style and taste. I think your doing a great job......no matter where you began on the build. the kit is huge........it looks as daunting, as all hell........ but you know that as soon as you got into it, and began putting 'er together, with everything you've done.........you've felt a sense of accomplishment. that my friend, is what you were looking for.........from the size of that kit.....you got it in spades!!! I'd love to get a kit like that, but the admiral won't let me play with plastic anymore. I still have a couple in the closet....she forgets Hee.....Hee! we have you now.............you will never be free.........bwaaaaaaa.......ha..ha..ha!

are you going to round off the edges?

hello there Cap'n Jack, planking can be such a trial, especially with this style of hull.......noting the cut of the mid ship. some folks will use filler to remedy the gaps, but it's not a solid rule of thumb, especially if the gaps are small. the hull should be smooth.......rounding at the bow and the contour of the stern. there is a little bulging at the bow.....not enough faring at these ribs, but they should round out with little problem. I saw the problem you had with the bow planking at first.......wasn't sure I had seen all the pictures, so I didn't post. as I see, you progressed much further. .5 mm planking is good........what I did with my Gothenborg build, was to first locate where the rails and wales were to be, then fill in in between. these parts are probably 1.8 mm thick.......this will give a much natural protrusion along the hull. yes, contour of the counter and transom is a must. when you do the second planking, it will go much better for you. I was looking at your decking........is there a gun deck? it looks like there is, but I can't be sure. like mine, it looks like you'll be doing simulated gun port lids. not a bad thing........but they would look better if they didn't protrude from the hull {like mine do} your off to a good start..... the second planking should make you smile

I thought you had time off!!!! noooooooo fair!

hello Jud..........I think my sauce is about 5% I can better my averages, if I convert my % to #proof

very nice progress John! looking really good with the masting......hope your Holiday is everything you expect!

yes....I do gentlemen.........that's why I took a vacation next week. I won't be back at work until the new year........plenty of time to get them planked out. I appreciate you folks following along....they don't look like much at the moment. the scavenger hunt goes poorly....not a good sign. all of the funding at the moment, seems to be going toward Holiday cheer.......I don't mind though.....as I keep tugg'in away at these bottles...hee....hee. looks like I'll be watching the after holiday sales.......gotta do it though, or I'll miss my dead line. work on the planking has pretty much stopped.......although I may try and sneak in one or two more rows. I wish each and everyone of you fine folks, the best of the Holiday season......and you find your wishes fulfilled in the morn......

and to you too Paul..........hope to see you back at the helm next year!

I brought out the frame I dubbed Moe and set 'er on the table. with the others nearby, I thought I'd show you a really cool progress report on them. one with the first......one with the second, and the last one with the third procession of planking. now, to continue on with the planking.