popeye the sailor

might be good to adopt a rivet pattern for the fish plates...images should give you ideas pretty neat project!

I have been fortunate to have followed you from the beginning.......watching you evolve, and the village thrive. I am so impressed with your workmanship, balancing the use of wood and mortar...your vision is quite strong you latest creations are absolutely incredible. what looks like the edges of the parameters are met......you see the vision that there are no barriers and your world is infinite. that is the earmarks of the perfect model....no matter how much you add, it does not create overkill and doesn't upset the applecart! {I'll bet there's even an applecart in there somewhere } where do you plans on showcasing this masterpiece......don't you think it ought to be put there, before you reach the vale?

yea......I'll do what I can concerning the gear situation.........glue them open I suppose. I will try to modify the other parts and add them.....pictures coming. I did get a good idea of that is between the white stripes.......nothing.......just a normal separation. I did paint white in the gaps and will do the same for the other stripes. there are no pictures yet......ben busy with Christmas stuff. as for the tail heaviness.......as mentioned, I just make and paint a base for it and glue it down. I can agree with that Egilman........where I have the props in the up position, it likely upset the balance. even with them on the model, it doesn't change things. it does look cool though......it's a very nice kit so close to the big day..........I hope I can do something on it

looks great!

to add to it............I've never seen it done this way either. I've not seen it done in the opposite......no matter how it's done, getting away from gaps is futile, due to the fact that they are separate parts. as most have done, a good filler is used. now if your a steady hand, you could carefully squirt a small amount of liquid CA into the gap and let it run down the seam. don't touch it!....let it dry. I don't use fillers too much.......reason being is the sanding that has to be done after. you could lose some detail and rivet lines. a fine needle point will deliver the Ca without getting any on the outer surface.

OK.........that was a long wait...huh? so..........Murphy must have visited me at one point........never even saw it coming I had painted the tires and assembled the gears...later gluing them onto the model. what I didn't see was that I had cemented the rear gear buckets on the wrong side. I painted the parts involved, saw the holes where they located...but somehow got them mixed up! the forward gear door was to be closed.......I can't do that now. nor can I add the parts for the gears. the nose gear is fine.......I couldn't screw that up.......so this problem mainly pertains to the rear gears. I also see that the weight is needed......this is a tail heavy model. there is a fix though.......I will make a base for it, and cement it down like I did for my F 15 Eagle {not a big deal}. this puts the gears too far forward........gonna be some surgery, I can see that! looks like it's up to you Lou........your going to have to be the one who comes out with the perfect model. Italeri makes a very good kit. for anyone who wants to add an Osprey to their collection, this would be the kit to get. as mentioned, the nose gear is not affected. I still need to paint the other two cameras {the smaller nodes}. a lot of yesterday's work { and today} has been geared toward decaling the model. the outline around the door on the starboard side has been hard to set......I had to apply it with decal set....the insignia has been a problem as well....I think it's the Ghost Gray, that is behind it, since it looks flatter than the Gunship Gray. I added a few parts as well.........the canopy glass.......the fins near the rear landing gear.......the dorsal fin and radar, along with a few more decals. so now I've set it aside to dry......

to think that's where we're heading........we have unmanned drones already! I made progress towards the finish of this model. I had to toss a couple pictures though because of blurriness, but I made more progress today, and I will have that up as soon as I can get them out of the camera. the hydraulic arms were cemented in place, connecting the lower part of the door to the body. the upper part stays where it is.......no cement needed.

from out of the clear blue.......you have a piece of the ocean neat way to do it! love the color tints....

Billing Boats sell what they call 'pick 'n place tools........same thing what you have there......a poke stick with a sticky thing on the end. all mine, the sticky thing came off, so now I use them to position decals. not recommended around sawdust

I think that's larger than 33 mm........the one in the hardware kit is 1 1/8 {28-30 mm}. it gives me something to work with thanks!

there is the engine room 'roof' still to make {it's a raised hold on the deck}. we finally arrive to where I'm at with the project. it's the reason why I started the log......Mike {Mog} is assembling the guns........and they look very different than mine. mostly made of metal, they seem a bit crude and lack finer detail. if I were to make this an R/C boat, I'd probably be good with it, but where I'm planning to do a static model, I'm tempted to go an extra mile or two. Mog's doing a fine job with his......he even has the turrets caged up. I'm not there yet. here is where I am on the 20 mm gun and the 50 cal machine guns. do not try to solder this metal......it doesn't end well.......'least not for me anyway. I ended up using CA. I've add a bit more to the machine guns......gotta make the shoulder rests for them. I broke a few bit drilling the holes. I'm going to look them up to see what they really look like, and perhaps I'll try to scratch build them { the machine guns anyway}. the other thing is the running hardware......I just took these pictures, so they're hot off the press the running hardware is just that.......the hardware. you get one rudder and one prop assembly. if I planned to run her, I'd need to get the motor{s}, rudder servo, and speed servo {I say motors because I'd want two props}. if Santa smiles on me for Christmas, I might find a kit, complete with all the hardware, to build an R/C vessel, under the tree here are the diagrams that Dumas supplies. I went out a short time ago and cleaned the driveway due to the wind........the storm is over..... depending where you were in the state, you could have seen as much as 3 feet! it hasn't snowed that much in quite a few years. when I was a young lad, living in Weare N.H.......a stone's throw from Goffstown, New Boston {nowhere NEAR Mass.}, and Concord, two feet was a normal storm for us. but I'm happy.......we will have a white Christmas.

more on the interior of the helm......... then the instrument panel face....... the companionway door is on the right of the instrument panel .....all under there was closed off. with the port divider wall dry fitted in place, there is enough room. this is the way the layout looks like on deck. there is still more to add........I'll get to that a bit later.....I now want to see what the armament looks like.

the cabin aft of the helm..........here I made a mistake. on the starboard side, I cemented the 1/8 frame strip on the wrong side of the panel. since time has passed since gluing it on, the thought of removing it may result in damage to the part. I came up with an alternate solution for the assembly. to avoid interfering with a window, the cabin bulkhead was cemented further in....the long end of that wall was supposed to be towards the stern. the part that boxes in the turret, is this short piece....... so I made a longer piece, cut and trimmed to fit into the cabin bulkhead..... the outer wall was added to the starboard half, leaving the port side open. pieces of 1/8 strip was added the the inner corners to add strength. all the outer corners and roof surfaces were sanded. the rood lays on leaving the cut out for the turret open to accept it. cemented in place, the roof was supported with rafters.......and yep, more sanding they supply a plastic instrument panel. which is supported with an odd cut wall panel. this panel doesn't seem to fit very well...here are the plans: with what I see, these parts would eat up most of the space, leaving very little for that port side wall panel {C16 & C17}.........and again with the block of wood. I did this a bit differently. first, the dash top was added to the assembly.

this was a huge session.......the main part of the helm structures was good. it was when I got to the point of assembling the instrument panel, where it got confusing. the sides and front wall panels was cemented to the frame. the inner wall on the starboard side was also added. I added a few more frame pieces to add strength........edges were sanded flush. then the roof was added. the area for the turret needs to be cut out. I was thinking to cut into the turret tube instead, but I think it might be more work than its worth. I'm getting ahead on myself here, me thinks. the edges of the roof were also sanded flush and to the appropriate angles. there is a wall that juts from the port side wall....I began flashing it out. on the backside, a block is to be utilized under this seat....a form of locker I suppose. this is all shaped to the camber of the deck. rather than do that, I'll simply box it in....plenty of cast off wood to go around { I have an unbelievable amount inside the box}.

what size did you buy for it Phil.......nice to hear from someone who has built this model. were your props in the same direction or did you you do one left and one right? that may be the case CW, but I would think a three blade prop would give more thrust......this would like move like a tug boat in the water I continued with the helm structure.........but I did come up with an idea to deliver cement to the loose seams. I would need to devise a long tube, with a bend on the end......what to use was still being decided. the two long stringers were cleaned up. the directions here were really confusing, as it directs you to cut the ends off.......I did one of them still unsure, considering the slots in the bulkheads. I tried to fit the other one, and the true nature of the direction was revealed. I had messed up! thankfully, it's not the end of the world and easy to remedy. I cemented the two stringers in there. there is a center stringer that runs from #5 to the stern.......two slotted stops are cemented at each end of the run. these were trimmed and fitted in place. I will box each end of the stringer I had cut in when I'm done. I'll have to sand the top flat {fore and aft} so the sheer will lay on it flat. when dry, the center stringer was cemented in place. as seen in previous pictures, a single stringer was cemented in the center from #5 to the bow stem. I also cut off all the tabs from the bulkheads.... more sanding to be done......very noisy due to the tabs that didn't see any glue {I may go over them with cement}. the port stringer in the front butted up and was repaired easily......for the stern though, I will need to add some wood.

they referred to it as plywood.......some did not specify. yes....mahogany was used, but out in the field, they used what they could get. one last before I go outside to brave the storm.........it's N.H. what can I say........ I did some more sanding, but it was futile......the panel was pulsing in and out and would do nothing more, than to become too thin, causing a redo. I decided to remove it from the board. the hull is 33 inches long.....the admiral saw it........the look on her face I need to frame the deck, but it can wait. I need to figure out how to get some glue under the chine stringer at the bow. not much room to work with..... as I pondered this feat, I tinkered with the structures.......first, the helm area. the part next to it, is the motor carriage........deciding whether or not to install it. the sides of the helm structure getting frame work cemented to them. I'll be back....wish me luck awww heck.......it'll be FUN!!!!!!

ohhhhhh.......I gotta get outside and shovel snow the admiral is going out to clear a small area for Gibbs { I already took him out this morning}. we've gotten quite a bit so far........definitely the boon on this one! no estimate on the amount yet, but we're getting about 2 inches an hour.......started before 11:00 last night, and has been raging since should end by the evening. ...but here it goes........ no pictures of the port side.........I know.......too much repetition here. all said and done, this is what I have to clean up. there is a small crack on the port side.....that was coated with glue and later sanded over. after sanding, you see what looks like a crack along the chine line........yes, that will haunt me.

....now to finish the hull sheeting. you can see how jagged the bulkheads are.........die cutting was not kind. doing the last sections will allow me to take advantage of the center stringer and the bow tip.......no lapstraking here Egilman

with the starboard sheet dry, the keel was prepped and the port side was laid down. any tiny gaps were filled with glue and sanded over to mix in sawdust. oh joy............more sanding

the next sections only cover two more bulkheads, keeping the joints on the bulkhead { I paid more attention to that}. the curvature here is a bit more pronounce. after cutting the starboard side {I turned the board around}, another was cut for the port side. I didn't leave as much excess either. I using the strips of cast off material, to suck the sheeting onto the stringer, to keep the curvature. I'll let this dry.

in the beginning, I was only going to pick at it.........but the more I worked on the hull, the more I got into it { I guess the immersion in sawdust got the best of me}. this session, the apex was sanded along the keel.......here's a fairly good picture..... from here, basically was only sanding.......between the keel and the chine stringer. the angles have to allow the sheeting to lay flat, with the most contact, much like faring. edges and lines more refined........the shape and feel is good. as much as I'd like to cover these two planes with whole sheeting, I feared that they would not behave well. so, I broke it up in smaller sections. the section joints are flush........I can hardly feel them. it continues........

well.........thank you all for joining in. our chat was very productive Lou......I had done a previous look, but was unaware of the other types of PT boats out there. I delve a bit deeper to get more ideas. for now though, I'm interested in assembling the basics......my usual direction deviated from there. there is more......the rest of the hull........I assembled the Elco structures {with more to do}........and began to assemble the armament [ not completely happy with the supplied stuff. what I was going to get into after assembling the hull. was that I began to look into the rudder and prop.......but to my confusion, there were no parts for these aspects. looking at the box cleared it up........you have to order this stuff separate. I ordered the running hardware kit.......that was a bit of a let down.........it only supplies a single prop assembly........with a two blade prop to boot! so before I get too far into closing up the deck, I will have to do some searching for more correct parts. the PT boat had three screws and rudders.....I probably can get away with two. .......might cause some to shrug, but won't look too ridiculous thanks for the picture lou........yea, that's kind of a herringbone design in planking. I would have thought that the hull be sheeted with plywood panels, but perhaps that method of planking adds more strength to the hull. knowing that the PT boat was heavily modified in the field to suit the needs, is a good thing........I will have card blanc in how I fit her out { I will be at the mercy of the budget director, as to how far}. armament changed and varied greatly Egilman.......the early boats had the torpedoes, and some did fit the roll offs later on. I did notice that some utilized light rocket launchers, depth charges and racks, as well as mortars. I read where one ship was fitted with machine guns from a P 38! I've always spoke of field modification........these guys were the Jacks of all trades where the log is at this time, is mid Nov.........there are ten sessions to go.......it continues

the V 247 looks like pure evil 😈

I just found the coolest site for the Osprey...........the future of Osprey these are the new versions of the Osprey under development.. Bell V-280 - Future Long Range Assault Aircraft with the V 280 Valor, there is a picture where you can do a 360 degree view of the aircraft....so cool!

thanks Lou......I haven't heard from the gut yet, so this will come in handy I did some look'in, but was hitting a dry hole......just articles and reviews. as you heard.......I'll have to sweet talk the admiral......I'll keep you posted