justsayrow

I am neither condescending nor troublesome, but as a moderator of this forum I am tasked with taking appropriate actions with regard to any new member who cannot be bothered with familiarizing himself with the rules and expectations of the public forum he has just joined and who, upon not receiving the desired response to a question that has already been asked and answered dozens of times on this site (which might have been discovered by the new member had he attempted even a modest amount of research before posting the question), immediately pitches a fit and treats the staff shabbily. You will note that I have indeed taken appropriate action in this instance.
 
Kind regards,

Thread hijacking? Ive never heard anything so absurdly ridiculous. I couldn't see the extra pictures Ive sent you on the thread, so maybe looking into that would be great. As for your description of the ship you're probably correct. Now my history may be lacking regarding these ships but I built a 4ft plank on frame Cutty Sark some years ago, so telling me the modification of my ship isn't worth my while isn't the question or advice I was requesting. I  drive a modified Porsche 911, a 57 Bentley and virtually built my own house, so do you wish to advise me about any of those too? Now if you could refrain from the condescending attitude it would be greatly appreciated, and telling me to read the rules as if you're talking to a child doesn't help either. I will be deleting my comments forthwith, in the event your toys fall out of your pram. I only hope the rest of the bloggers on here are not as troublesome as you. Good day!

Jay,
Not sure where you got that particular one but I picked up one that looks just like it at Harbor Freight yesterday. It's in a "deluxe hobby knife kit" with three other holders and about 25 types of blades. It's on sale at mine for $14 USD. Don't think the blades will last long, good aftermarket blades are readily available.
 
I particularly like the little rubber nubbin on the side that keeps it from rolling off the bench into ones foot!
 
Jerry

Two 2-drawer metal file cabinets and a 30" wide lauan door.
 

A few recommendations:
 
I don't know much about the Albatros kit in particular, but it is a Mantua product, and they aren't one of the first names to come up in discussions about contenders in the "Best Kit Instructions" category. Starter tool combos have both their benefits and drawbacks. If you have zero tools to start with, then they're of course better than nothing. OTOH, many modelers, myself included, have quickly discovered after purchasing such tool sets that some tools get used a lot while others are rarely used, if ever. For that reason, some will argue in favor of a "go slow and buy only what you need" approach. Starter tool combos typically don't include tools that modelers often find indispensable once they really get into the hobby, such as rigging tools, plank bending irons, planking clamps, rotary tools, proportional dividers, etc. etc. Since you will be packing stuff into a relatively remote location and are taking on a project that may take you months to complete, you might want to think about how portable your project will be. A fully rigged ship model, even if still incomplete, is a bit fragile and thus a pain to move. For your situation, i.e. a new modeler with no experience and working remotely, I would think seriously about a less demanding project that is better suited for beginning modelers. The new Shipwright Series from Model Shipways fits this description, as do the older kits from Midwest Products that are currently out of production but still available on eBay. BlueJacket Shipcrafters also has a line of beginner kits. These kits typically spell out exactly what tools are needed to finish the kit, which eliminates guess work. Grab a kit well in advance of your planned departure date, study the plans and instructions, and get your tools and materials together before you go -- you don't want to be sitting in the middle of nowhere when you realize that you forget to pack some essential tool or bottle of glue.
 
Be sure to start a build log once you get your project started and include some pics of the view from your tower!
 
Cheers!

This is the kind of name (translates as "18th century frigate") that is typically attached to old decor models that have little or no value for either collectors or serious modelers, so you are unlikely to find a home for your model at this site. Not trying to be harsh, just honest.
 
Kind regards,

Earlier this week, I sent some small pieces of wood to a friend in another state. (Nothing commercial about it - just a friend-to-friend thing.) They wouldn't fit in a regular envelope, so I put them in a padded CD mailer. That's about 6" square. The wood was very light and the whole package probably weighed only a couple of ounces. Took it to the post office and the clerk asked if it needed to get there in a hurry. I told him no - it could ship the cheapest way. The price? $10.30!!  We were both floored but he swore that was the right price. As I stood there, I looked at the display of "If it fits, it ships" envelopes, I saw there was one considerably larger than my CD mailer and it was $8.95, which was the cheapest mailer they have. I asked if I could just put my envelope right into one of those mailers and he said, "Sure."  So for $1.35 less, the package was sent priority mail to arrive in 2 days, had a tracking number, and $50 insurance.  Crazy.
 

This is simply not true.  At least not in the USA.  All commercial products must be mailed and shipped at the parcel price.  The USPS will not allow any product to be shipped by a known commercial seller just an an envelope.  I know first hand because I have tried.   Many dont know this and the seller would face stiff penalties and or refusal to ship from the Post Office if caught.  Sorry but you are just wrong.  One reason is that any stiff items will jam the new sorting machines.   Only envelopes can be put in them and they bend through the machine rollers.  When you put anything hard or metal in the envelopes it jams the machines and believe me you hear about it if you are a commercial shipper.
 
Parcels are NOT put through sorting machines like the envelopes are...or they are put through different ones not likely to jam.
 
In the US the cheapest parcel rate for commercial shipping is around $5.50  Up to 8 oz.  If its going international it varies...but you are looking at $14 - $22.   The cheaper number is basically just Canada.  I have had angry emails that shipping 1package of large triple blocks which cost $6 when sent to Europe would cost $22 to ship.   I get called a crook all the time.   But folks are just so wrong and have no idea how it works for a small business.
 
No way around this unless you are Amazon and get a huge break from the post office.  Small guys have to pay full rate every time.  So any of you guys in the US that get angry about not using a first class stamp to mail a few packages of blocks or rope....or "brass pins", please understand that this is not 1950....you cant do that any more.  
 
Now if that guy is charging $16 to ship within the same country like the USA he is absolutely ripping you off.  But $7 - $10 is pretty standard to cover packaging etc.  Unless you are Jeff Bezos.

FINALLY . . . after over three weeks of painstaking work, numerous itty bitty parts lost and remade again, and liberal usage of 'special words', the stack is done. It was a real slog (no offense to Captain Slog), and I'm relieved to be done with it so that I can at last move on to something else -- literally anything else!
 

 

 

Thank you Eduard, watch this space, who knows 😉
 
Meanwhile the hopefully final version of the long guns came out of the printer. All the important details are in place, including the cap square key and the coins's handling cord .
 
 
 

Also, the supports are now all in such a way that the part almost falls out by itself after printing and hardly any rework is needed.

If you cut out the coin and the stool bed, the gun can also be secured well over the port.
 
 

But other positions also are possible 😉
 

Parallel to that I cut planks, glued them on self adhesive foil ...
 

... and sprayed it black. More about this soon.
 

Then the grain structure of the decks was smoothed with sandpaper ...
 

... and I marked the approximate position of the deck beams underneath.
 

Even if the position of the passages to the orlop deck do not quite match the plans, the concept could be transferred. These beam lines form the alignment of the plank joints, as these had to be nailed into something, as in between the beams the nails would have hung in thin air 😉

Best regards, DAniel

Welcome to the Jungle!

Attentive observers had already discovered the hull of the USS Constitution in my shrubbery for some time.
 


But who now expects a FITZCARALDOOOO downhill is wrong for the time being, it actually goes on in a civilised way

The kit has been lying around for quite a while, as it is really great in many aspects, such as the hull, but in others it does not fully meet its own claims, especially with regard to the guns.

What could be more obvious than to choose these guns after the purchase of a new printer and to program them in a contemporary correct way. The results were promising ...
 

 

 

 

 

... and with a little colour quite convincing ...
 

 

 

 

... especially compared to the originals from the kit.
 

Grandpa, what big fingers you have!


 

Shipbuilders,
My ship modeling has been limited in recent months due to:
Preparation of a major Technical Paper on "Warship Design and Acquisition" to be published in the Naval Engineers Journal Sept. `21 issue, an American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) publication. Incredibly hot weather which prevents work in my garage shop. With the paper complete and weather improving, I look forward to getting back to the shop.
 
Regards, Pete 

Yesterday I stumbled across a card model site that is new to me, called Kartonowki. As the name suggests, it's a Polish site, and there is no option for viewing it in English (unless your web browser can do so). I have always said that the Poles must have a gene that makes them natural-born card model masters, and this site's gallery (nearly 5000 entries) supports my theory. Check it out if you have time -- you'll be amazed!

Well, Bob, you asked for it. I tried to select "a picture or two" and ended up with a photo essay. There's just a lot of diverse landscapes here and we've put a lot of work into improving the ecology here over the past 15 years. Others are welcome to skim right past this if desired, but it is relevant in the sense that landscape management here is a big part of my life and I'd like to tie my modeling into it.
 
Spring in the creek-bottom garden below the house. I built the shed at right from wood cut and milled here; all fence wood is the same.
 

 
The only way in is over a bedrock creek crossing. When the water's up, we stay home. We're surrounded in three sides by creeks, so during high water the only way out is a mile-long hike up and over a narrow drainage divide onto a neighbor's property and over to a connecting road. 
 

 
Another view of the garden and cedar shed. The maple trees in this bottom can give us about a gallon of syrup in a good year: 
 

 
A couple shots of forest in summer and winter. Our region is dominated by oak/hickory stands, with other hardwoods mixed in, and sycamores and cottonwoods common along creek bottoms. Cedars take over any open area that isn't kept mowed, grazed, or burned.
 

 

 
An oak-hickory fencerow stand, in front of which is one of two pine plantations we've started.
 

 
Thunderstorm over pasture. I build the barn at right  for our small dairy goat herd, also of on-farm wood. I love being able to tie buildings together with 16' heartwood beams, you just can't buy wood like that!

 
Controlled burning to used to manage pastures and prairie plantings:


Hauling smaller cedar logs for future fencing work. Bigger logs get milled and used or sold.

 
Overall, we put a lot of work into managing our woodland and pastures for healthier trees and ecosystem restoration. This was a pretty degraded landscape when we bought it 15 years ago, due to overfarming followed by neglect, and we've been bringing it back to life. Some upland pasture areas literally had bare soil where nothing grew, they were so degraded; now they have ground cover and an increasing mix of native wildflowers. Forests are being thinned and healthy trees selected for and given room to grow.
 
My stock of modeling wood basically just comes from castoffs naturally resulting from timber management and firewood cutting, as we inevitably need to thin young or dying trees. I also have some more obscure stuff on hand, like redbud, and various fruitwood from our orchard, that I want to start playing with.
 
And now back to the project at hand!

@gsdpic Thanks for the welcome note!  Your comment is actually one of the reasons I wanted to post this build - I found several logs of the plastic Revell Alabama but none of the Mamoli wood kit.  Figured someone might benefit from my experience even though I'm a rookie.  Regarding the planking and bulkheads, yes the distance was a challenge.  But being new to this, I assumed they were all like that.  You will see in some later pictures that it is double planked just above the water line and copper plated below.  So I figured I didn't have to be perfect with the base layer of planking (thank goodness!).  

1/200 scale card model of Chikuma, a hybrid heavy cruiser that was eventually scuttled during the Battle off Samar following successful TBM attacks.  Built this a few years ago...since I'm not a purist, main gun barrels, screw shafts and screws are metal.  Railings are cardstock.

Welcome from Katy!
 

Welcome from Katy!
 

Hello Mark,
Been out of the loop for a while. Sybile wife of 52 years passed May 8th. I am just be beginning to deal with it. Years ago she was an ACLS Paramedic and I a Marine Policeman. Little Bio Hurricane Frederick took out Dauphin Island Bridge. We went on calls together, her medicals my rescues. for a 3 year period. this was before life flight so transport times were between 2 to 3 hours depending on weather by boat and C.G. Training choppers if training in the area. We were tied to the hip, and as close as 2 people could be.
Apologize to all know this was not the area to post. 
 
To the paints, I have reconstituted semi dried (the totally dried hard as a rock I did not attempt) they were soft enough to break down, added very little water and mixed with a drill bit on a Dremel. They seemed pretty thick (totally smooth no chunks or hard pieces.) even had to add a little water to thin. That being said I had used a couple of colors on the interior of the Hunley I am trying to destroy. They seem okay when dry, colors seemed as bright as a new bottle, whether they last who knows. Having shallow pockets I'm cheap. I do not have the skillset at this time to expend dollars on tube acrylics and mix colors I would and up with a model looking like a Rat Rod. So I'll muddle along until someone takes the word model out of acrylics and the price and packaging becomes reasonable.

With the Brig Fair American hull painting complete, construction continued with installation of the head rails and bow fittings:
Head rails were previously fabricated/dry fitted from 3/32” laminated stock (3 layers of 1/32” sheet stock with opposing grain) Middle rails were previously fabricated/dry fitted from 1/16” sheet stock Cheek knees were previously fabricated/installed from 1/16” sheet stock Boomkins were previously fabricated/dry fitted from 1/8” sheet stock Catheads were previously fabricated/dry fitted from 3/16” sheet stock Head and middle rails were pre-painted and installed After checking the head rails from all angles; they were primed and finished painted.  Gold trim was applied with Deco Color Prime-Premio gold metallic paint pens After completion of the head rails, catheads were painted/installed Figurehead was painted/installed Boomkins were painted/dry fitted  To avoid potential damage, the boomkins will be left loose for later installation during the rigging phase.  To allow construction access, the bowsprit, bowsprit bitts, and fore bitts will be left loose until completion of bulwark interior fittings and cannon installation.
 
With completion of the head structure and gold trim she is starting to look like a fine little armed brig from the 1780’s.  Next steps will continue with installation of exterior hull outfit.
 
Regards from the shipyard,
Pete Jaquith

Progress continues on the head structure.  More pictures to follow when this work area is completed.
 
Regards from the shipyard,
Pete

Captain Hook,
 
Thank you for the likes.  I typically break the edges on hull planking and try to minimize sanding in order to retain plank runs.
 
Regards from the shipyard,
Pete

Status update:  Painting nearing completion but I still have to add gold trim to transom moldings / carvings.  Many pre-fabricated bitts and pieces to be added to complete exterior hull outfit.
 
Regards from the shipyard,
Pete

I’m in the pencil camp.
 
one thing to consider if you’ve not already: experiment with the different techniques before applying them to the model itself.  I saw other modelers posting mockups and test runs and it kinda struck me as a blinding flash of the obvious: we can practice things!
 
good luck!

I’m in the pencil camp.
 
one thing to consider if you’ve not already: experiment with the different techniques before applying them to the model itself.  I saw other modelers posting mockups and test runs and it kinda struck me as a blinding flash of the obvious: we can practice things!
 
good luck!