Elia

Hi David, you're very kind. I simply used a 0.25mm thick brass strip. This is properly bended around the bowsprit to create also the lugs at 0° and 180°. Bended lugs are then soldered.
After installed onto the bowsprit, two holes  at 90° and 270° are prepared to receive lugs made from wire.
This is not really correct, but after painting the overall effect is good. 
 
Ciao, and happy Christmas to you and to the other friends.
 
Giorgio

Some ironwork on the bowsprit.

Hi all.
Deck furniture almost completed.Starting the bowsprit.
 
Ciao a tutti.

Hi all. 15 days to prepare fife rails and bitts!
This is the second attempt. I think is okay: made from a 1mm brass sheet.
The first one was made of 1 mm ply: too weak!!
 
Ciao,
Giorgio

Hi David,
 
I applied a round 2mm wooden rod with adesive strip along the line track.
The marker followed this track!
Then I removed the 2mm rod.
 
 
Ciao,
Giorgio

The thin yellow line.

Spending the weekend building the windlass.

The steering wheel, from a brass blind nut (Why waste money for a expensive 1m, 12mm DIA bar?).

Hi all, 
I love the fine shape of "Ingomar", a design from the "Indian Headers" series, by Thomas F. Mc Manus.
She was built in Essex in 1904 and wrecked in 1936.
 
Sources of this model come from:
 
1. The American Fishing schooners, by Howard.I.Chapelle,
2. Thomas F.McManus and the American Fishing Schooners, by W.M.P. Dunne,
3. Gloucester Clipper Fishing Scooners, by Erik A.R. Ronnberg Jr,
4. Bluenose II, the saga of the Great Fishing Schooners.
 
The following pictures show the books, lines, and the first building step. Now the model is quite painted and it's time to prepare the deck details. I hope thet someone will'give me some suggestion to continue building in a good way. 
 
Thank you.
Giorgio.


ingomar.bmp

Hello everybody..
 
I decided to stray from Bob Hunt's practicum when it came to building the dory.  The kit provides some laser cut pieces with which to construct a jig to use building the ship's boat.  The actual pieces to make the dory with are 1/64"  "crapwood" but I decided to give it a try.  The practicum found the jig difficult to use and Bob's idea was to make the dory by gluing the bottom of the boat to the side and then glue the transom to what you have already made and keep going that way.  I found that ridiculous.  Trying to hold a 1/64" piece of veneer in order to glue it to another one of that thickness was impossible...at least for me.  So I decided to try the kit's method and I built the jig. 
 
Actually, I found the jig to work well and actually made a dory.  It was interesting working with 1/64" x 1/32" strip wood to make the dory's floor grating but by the time one who builds this kit gets this far, one is used to working with such small dimensional strip wood.  I used a lot of this stripping even to make the yellow gunwales.  All in all, the experience was good because it was a new one and the more new experiences the better model building becomes.  So here are some pictures of the dory and also after it was lashed to its skid on the deck.

So is Olive Oil.....
Thanks, Popeye.
Jerry
 
P.S.  here are a few more pictures...
 
 

Hello everybody...
Another day and some more details.  The shipyard closed just in time to have the eye bolts and rings, the catheads and the belaying pins placed in their racks which were also added today.  A lot was done but there's still a lot more minutia to finish before the masting can begin.  I anticipate that the masts and boom will be part of next week's assignment.  So without further BS here are the photos which were taken right before the gates to the shipyard were closed for the night.
Best,
Jerry

Hello Everybody..
It's been a few days since I have reported my progress with this interesting kit, Bluenose.  When I last reported what was going on I was beginning to build the wheel box which I completely screwed up and build upside down.  I thought about making revisions in order to use what I spent a few hours on but eventually decided to make a new one. There were a few other smaller pieces (bits, boom crutch, "unidentified object") which I finished and then it was time to make the monkey rails.  This part of the build took a lot of time because painting the rails was difficult.  Now there are several other "deck details" which need to be completed such as eye bolts and rings and the ship's boats before the masts and booms are made.  In the meantime here are some pictures of the deck as it is at this time.
Best to all,
Jerry

Good morning Lawrence..
Many thanks for your birthday wishes and for all the nice things you have said regarding the Bluenose build.  I am enjoying building this model and look forward to completing the deck "stuff" so I can get going on the mast structures, etc.  In the meantime here are a couple more photos of the cabin assembly temporarily placed on deck.  A few more aft pieces and then I will begin shaping the masts.  I hope you have a wonderful day and my best regards to your admiral.
Best,
Jerry

Hello..
A few more pictures of the cabin top stuff..
Best,
Jerry

Hello Everybody..
It's Labor Day weekend and here's some pictures of a little more progress.  Forming the cabin was tricky for two ,main reasons:  the strip wood is of very small dimensions and getting the correct angle which was accomplished by laying wax paper over the plans and gluing the pieces together while in position.  The roof is a bit small but I'll fix that with some extension later on.  So far, so good..Now some pics...
Jerry

Thanks again, John..
Thanks for the additional photos.
All the ships I have built so far are sail-less.  I thought I'd try sails on this model but now you have me wondering.  The decision will actually be the admiral's; I'll go either way.
Have a great evening.
Best,
Jerry
P.S.  I also have built a model of the Bounty
 

Good afternoon, John and many thanks for the wonderful photo of the Bluenose. I'm sorry that I didn't get to visit the Waterfron Restaurant when we were in Halifax a couple of summers ago.  OMG, it looks like I have a lot of sail work to do one of these days.  This picture really illustrates how much sail area this ship had..
 
Many thanks for your kind words regarding the build and I am pleased to submit a few more pictures as to where the build stands today.
 
Have a very nice evening and please visit again.
Best,
Jerry

Hello Popeye,
Olive Oil has had an open kit sitting on her desk since early spring; it's not the Santa Maria but it is the La Nina by Artesania Latina.  I learned a long time ago to say nothing that will make her feel pressured so I've been waiting to see if and when sh'd begin the build.  About a week ago she slipped into the office (where we both work) and started messing around with her kit.  As agreed upon, I said nothing until she asked me to check to see if she was missing some parts.  I found the parts and said nothing else waiting to see what would progress.  I was busy working on Bluenose so about 30 minutes later I realized she left the office and I didn't see her for about another hour or so when I went into another room to watch TV. Honestly, to this day not another word has been said about her build.  I have a feeling though, that she's getting closer to working on her kit but I'm not saying a thing.  Things have been peaceful around here for a long time and I'd like to keep it that way, if you know what I mean.  LOL
 
Now to the Bluenose...
 
I've made some more progress.  The deck furniture is beginning to grow.  It's tedious work due to its minute size but we all now that we wouldn't be following this hobby  (participating in it) if we didn't have patience.  That's always the first statement I hear when someone is looking at my finished models..."I would never have the patience to do what you do."
 
So it's one deck piece at a time and that's where I'm at.  Here are some additional photos to bring my progress up to date.
 
Take care,
Best,
Jerry

Good morning everyone...
 
Today will be a day of touching up.  I am pleased with the results of the red and black hull painting, although I didn't do it with the tools I originally thought I would.   The Preval Spray System didn't work as I hoped it would.  The paint was apparently too thick and needed thinning  but that would have affected the tone of the color.  When purchasing the product I was told no thinning was necessary,  so I returned everything with no trouble and bought a can of Rust-Oleum satin Black and satin Colonial Red which worked.  But as usual there are places that were under sprayed or completely missed due to inaccessibility.  I plan to spray the color I want to use on a piece of paper to create a puddle from which I will brush on the touch-ups.
 
Incidentally, the masking of the hull was a real time eater.  The whole idea was to mask the hull in a way that when the black painting was finished the white stripe at the waterline would be created.  This required laying the first tape right on the edge of the red color and then laying a second tape 1/16th" beyond the edge of the first tape.  The second tape was scotch tape so I could see the 1/16th" overlay.
 
So here are some pictures as to where I stand and after the touch-ups, I'll show the final results.
 
Have a great day.
Best,
Jerry

Good evening everyone...
 
Well, I finally installed the gunwale cap rails on the Bluenose and with a little more filler and sanding I believe will be ready to paint the hull.  I do have a confession to make:  I did not use scarf joints as  Bob Hart's Practicum and the kit's manual calls for.  The Model Shipways kit was void of the right size strip wood for the cap rails but I was very lucky to find some strip wood left over from the HMS Victory build which was exactly the right size.  So, I must admit, I took the easy way out and used regular butt joints instead of the scarfs. Everything looks okay.  No one will know the difference since the cap rails will be painted black and the joints will be hidden..
 
So after the additional preparations for the finish it looks like I'm going to spray paint and not use a brush.  I like the looks of the hull shown in the practicum and it was painted with spray cans.
 
Here are some pictures of the cap rails and the hull which is almost ready to be painted.
 
Best,
 
Jerry 

Good afternoon everyone and a happy Monday.
 
More progress to report:  The bow and transom cap rails have been fitted and glued into place.  The bow has been "carved" to provide the opening for the bowsprit, the hawser holes have been roughed in and the waterways and bulwarks have been painted.  The next step is to add the gunwale caps and finally paint the hull.
 
As you may remember I have been building this model with the aid of Bob Hart's practicum which so far I have found to be excellent.  Most of the time (about 95%) I have stuck to Bob's directions as they have been well written and are very explanatory.  However, occasionally I have found it necessary to wander into my own brain and do some things of my own.  For example I have chosen not to remove some of the planking on the port and starboard sides of the bow to make way for a "scrap" block of wood from which one is supposed to carve out a 1/4" hole for the bowsprit.  I have decided to cut the 1/4" hole out of the existing planking which I have found (so far) to be rigid enough to support the bowsprit.  I have used plenty of Elmer's wood filler and will use some more before the first coat of paint is applied.  I also constructed the transom differently than the practicum suggests; I did not strip away and replace any planking but merely carved out the transom from a piece of balsa wood.  I don't see any unusual abuse happening in the future in the area of the transom and so I feel safe in the way with the material I have chosen
 
With the exception of a couple of quick look at the kit's plans for reference only, I have not used the plans or the direction manual at all.  Now that doesn't mean I won't in the future as there is much detail starting with the deck furniture which happens after the hull is painted..
 
I have added some more pictures as to where I am and hope to have more progress during the week.
 
I wish you all a great evening.
Best,
Jerry 

Hello Everyone.
Another day in the dry dock and some more work completed.  Today we have finished installing and finishing all of the false timbers.  It looks like this Bluenose is coming along and will be sent to the paint shop as the hull is ready for painting.  Here are the final pictures of the false timbers installed and trimmed to proper size ready for capping when the time comes.  Hope everyone is having a great day.
Best,
Jerry

Dave,
 
Very nicely done! That is one smart paint job.
 
Elia

Paint Complete and Deck Staining
 
After weeks of masking, painting, waiting, sanding, and repeating, my Bluenose is painted!  It was very, very satisfying to remove the multiple layers of masking tape that I had piled on over the last month.
 

 
There was a good deal of touching-up required, especially on the waterways and bulwarks.  Those had been airbrushed early in the process, but there was some bleeding, so I touched those up by hand.
 
I still need to do some final touch ups on the yellow and white stripes on the outer hull, but I decided to ahead and get the deck stained first.  I went with a darker shade than originally planned on (kind of a last minute decision), but I'm really happy with how the deck turned out.
 

 
Hopefully I'll get those stripes on the hull cleaned up this week.  
 
I'm still debating if I should go ahead and get some poly on the deck now, or wait until later.  
 
The entire hull was airbrushed, and I decided on the specific colors after doing some tests on a large piece of basswood.
 
For black, I used Model Master's Flat Black (I know that 'midnight blue' is more historically accurate, but I didn't think I would be able to get a good shade of that).  The red portion of the hull was Model Master's Insignia Red (probably not the 'right' shade of red, but it was the one I liked the most).  For white (both on the stripe and on the bulwarks) I used Humbrol Flat White.  The yellow stripe was Model Master's Insignia Red (which wasn't my plan, I was going to use Humbrol Trainer Yellow, but grabbed the wrong bottle without realizing it).  The grey was Model Master's Light Grey.
 
After I get things cleaned up with the stripes, I still need to put some kind of clear coat on top, but I'm not sure what I'll use yet.
 
I'm excited to get things moving again!