popeye the sailor

5 - 17 - 2011 this is the second part......the alterations on the stern quarters. this part will not be needed......I will show why later on. instead of this part, a much thinner part will take it's place. this will give more room to the lower quarters. location tabs are cemented on the floor of the upper quarters. the aft outer wall is then cemented in place. the upper stem is cut out and location tabs are cemented in place. the thick part added.............. the thin floor added.......you can see how much room will be gained, in substituting this part. a hallway will separate the quarters the bottom part of the stem was cut out to enlarge that quarter as well. more location tabs are cemented in place the side walls also needed to have extensions built onto them. I believe at this point, I just dry fitted these parts in place. to be honest, I can't seem to remember, but these parts now fit together pretty good.

5 - 17 - 2011 this was done in two parts......the deck planking, and the stern. first the deck planking. I plan on adding a rack where the ship's boats are to be located. the pictures I have show a very elaborate rack on the deck. this area will be left blank. there will be a front and rear stanchion, a central platform, and lockers bordering the port and starboard sides. I used crayon to simulate the calking. it will be sanded lightly afterwards and given a couple coats of clear lacquer. no stain. the deck was trimmed after the planking was laid. upper deck:

5 - 5 - 2011 I was curious as to whether or not the plans are to scale with the build. a quick check tells me that I can rely on these drawings.

yepper Augie.........this is the last of my builds.......hopefully I can remember everything I had in here.

5 - 4 - 2011 the idea here is to open up the stern quarters. the kit is portrayed with blued blanked out windows, and the clear cello that is set in the windows, has lined detail on it. this is too good to waste. the frame work continues at this point, but there will need to be some alterations made to the stern frame. I got a new build table with matching light, thanks to my oldest son. he had it in his cellar, and didn't need it anymore. these parts will be needed for my idea. they are cemented in place. the center part of the stern stem will need to be cut out. with the aft wall in place, it is clear to see why. the planking lines are drawn on the platform.

hello there Aldo! I just sent a package out your way.........a fellow on another site was looking for 1:96 scale figures. this is my last one, and I'm going to put in every juicy detail! glad to see you here!

5 - 3 - 2011 the build starts......... I cemented this added piece to the rib sso the aft lip of the main deck would have a good cement point. I used the deck as a spacer, as the frame joices dried if I would have thought of it, I could have extended the joices to meet the beam on rib #9. I added in these pieces. the deck platform was dry fitted in place.

4 - 2011 I made the build slip in may. I did this dry fit in April, while I was building the Cux 87. I had just gotten the kit.....purchased through MSW as an offering from Billings Boat. even then, I had the problem....the inability to keep my hands out of shiny new boxes. remember, this is only a dry fit......I couldn't wait to check it out.

now for the biggie........I have quite a log on this build. at the moment, I am waiting for the budget director's OK to order the dead eyes for this build. so, I have plenty of time to get all this back up onto the site. this poor girl has seen a few problems......even being dropped on the floor once. she has also seen her fair share of kit bashing, and additions in detail.......thanks to Eric, Erik, and Anton, for supplying me with well over a hundred pictures of this fine vessel......if I relyed on the internet, I would probably be at a loss. At the time of the atart of this build, I did not have a proper build slip for her. I made one myself. using a large pine board, and some junk wood, I was able to do so.

thanks John......I guess 'spur of the moment' thoughts always work best thanks Bob......I don't need anything for the AmericA.....as a mater of fact, I have to make a change with the light boxes {wait till you see what they look like}. it just so happens that I have lights this size fo it....so I'm all set there. this seems to be another ship that only requires one anchor. they have it set up like........the chain comes out of the fairlead on the deck......chain and anchor just lays on the deck......doesn't sound right. I'm going to look at some pictures and see if I can see how it's set up.

this is the reason why I didn't weather the boat......it's so confusing. I'll do a bit more to the traps anyway. I also have to furnish the interior. thanks for the pictures John......I've seen lots of pictures though......you can see just how versital this type of ship really is.

not a problem Kats.......it happens to me too..... I'm just glad your getting all this back up

that's true Augie........that's how they used to do it. the animal rights activists thought that was inhumain.......isn't eating them just as bad? no Bob.......he just has a very good pit crew.........LOL! thanks for the good word

thanks Rick and Patrick........model manufacturers do a pretty good job of supplying the parts to make some really fine models. there are some parts that we see that might not give a good representation of that particular aspect. I see something that can be done better...I'm going to try it. now that I've tried this and see that this is a doable thing.......I can do the same thing to the galley skylight on the Gothenborg........there's one in that build as well. thanks for the good word!

thanks Carl........now I know what to do about the galley skylight in the Gothenborg build

that's in the plans Wayne........perhaps not the bevs though......I run a tight ship! leave that for miller time it can be done Sarah.......I have bev containers in my M&M build.......the dollhouse dept can be a good place to find cool things. there was a time that I wouldn't frequent craft stores......but now, it's a whole different story. the jewelry dept.....stenciling.......just a few places where things can be found to accentuate the hobby. gotta be careful of the colors though.......don't want to clash dowel would also be a good material to make bottles and cans

as mentioned gentlemen......thanks for the good words. this gives me quite a bit to think about for when I get back to them.....combined with the ideas that I already have......I can see that I am not finished by a long shot. we shall see now........now........don't pick on Sjors........he has a style all his own

As mentioned, after I had finished posting, I wasa bit miffed. I didn't want it to look like the part on the kit. this is not normal plastic.......certainly not a styrene plastic by any stretch. looking at the underside, I noticed the dimple in the middle.....looked like a good starting point....I drilled a small hole, but not deep enough to go through. then I chased it out with a larger drill then, using a new 1/2 inch drill bit and a freshly bladed x-actor knife, I took out as much material as I could. checking the thickness with my x-actor knife, the material was reamed out until I was satisfied. then the windows were cut out. I wanted to hollow out the base, but the the delimma of the bottom occurred to me......that and I didn't want it to look weird. so, I painted the frame and the base. the very top of the base, I painted with a light coat of black......it'll just suck into the wood anyway, and give me the 'nothingness' look I was after. I let the frame dry for a bit..........and then filled the panes in with the window maker. it was a quarter to three in the morning when I went to bed.......got up around seven AM. I wanted to look at it, but there was just too much activity.......dog wanted to go out.......brought the son to work. passing by the coffee maker......I wanted my first cup......no time, I had to get the trash out to the curb. finally got that cup of coffee......and then I got my first look. it was a little blurry.......I put on my reading glasses. put on it's base, I was quite satisfied with the results. I's strong to da finich, cuz I eats me spinach.....

thanks for the good word Augie......a bit more, and I'll be masting her thank you as well for the good word Patrick......and your idea.........it's close......very close

thanks Gary......glad to see you here......started a build log yet? thanks John.....that's what I'm shooting for! this manic constructive disorder.........it'll get the best of me yet! they told me not to breathe in the sawdust......but I didn't listen....LOL! love thy hobby!

thanks John and Mark.... I was thinking about doing this, figured I'd wait till I got back to 'em......but the natives were getting restless. I know Andy.......I'm thinking about doing it......just have to figure out how. I still have a bit to go yet thanks for the good word! really appreciate it guys!

slight change of plans..........after I posted about this galley skylight......I sorta got miffed at myself. nothing I can do.....ehhhh! Well! hangs onta yer 'ats..........me gots an idier! AK-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k!

Since I took a couple quick pictures of the Denny-Zen, I was able to get these pictures ready also. there is another small skylight that I was at odds as to just what to do with it......it's totally made of plastic, and very odd. I can't do much with the dome, but I can replace the base with wood. making circles, and checking the hieght, I glued three of them together. while this was drying, I put the cleats on the deck I went to put on the decals next.......there was some trouble here. the decals are a film that is very thin, and even with them solvent on the backing, broke into pieces with the stress of trying to move it around, and so the eagle didn't make the cut. I thought to spray the rest of them with the decal bonder, and that helped out perfectly! I wasable to get the others on. I contacted Billing's.....they sent me an e-amil this afternoon letting me know that another decal sheet is on the way....I am pleased! so I did the other decals and the waterlines....a byproduct of the decal sheets I made for the lobsie twins. you would have seen the eagle here I got back to the skylight.....{or galley light} and sanded the base round. after some drying time, she's back in her stand. before I forgot......I still needed to do the rudder. I had one more length of decal, wet on the table. it was a bit of a rush to get the rudder in shape, so I could use it.

I feel bad that I put these two aside, to work on the AmericA..........I seem to have caused a ripple in the thread. So I thought I'd give you a glimpse.......a bit of an idea, as to what he'll look like when loaded up to head out.

thank you good sir! I'm humble, but lovable the Gothenborg is coming