Geoff Matson

Wow it turned out great! I will have to give this one a try when I need a name plate. Thanks. On my Constitution I used the dry letter transfer and was happy with the result

Harvey I know what you mean. I made all my masts out of poplar. I bought some billets from Menards and cut them down to square demensions and then rounded them out. I gave up trying to find good straight dowels and decided to make my won. Used the drill and sand paper and then finished by hand. So far all is well.

Thanks John, a trip out east is one on my bucket list. Hope your trip goes well.

Way to go Bob. Your are making great progress.

Robbyn Here is my two cents. Your model looks great! I am at the same point you are with my Conny. I have been building her for over three years. When I look back on her I also see my mistakes, but you have to realize as the time goes by on your build your skills increase. So now that your skills are better you tend to want to go back and redo all the earlier faults. Even though both our models are from kits, we are always looking at ways to make them better. I guess we progress form kit builds to kit bashing to semi scratch builders. I also have other builds in the wings and made a promise to myself to finish the Conny before going on to the other ones. So hang in there and finish your build. You have had a LOT on your plate lately and some times you need to take a little time for yourself and then get back to making some sawdust.

hey Harvey I am about the same place as you. Just finishing up all my line details. I will also be using cotton line. So far I really like Coats and Clark brand.I am thiniking of doing the rigging the same way as you. I will have to give it a try. I will do as much off the model and then install as I go. My biggest problem is I am going to try and build a working case for the Conny. I will make the front and back sides removable so I can rig her. Kind of like a big rectangle box with removeable front and back plexiglass sides for the rigging. That way I can keep the dust and animals out. Looking forward to your progress.

Thanks for the pictures. It is always great to see the ships in action.

Liked the story thanks for the link.

The windmill looks great. I really like the details of the horse cart and barrels. Nice job!

Steve Good to see you getting back to modeling. The dog rescues are the way to go. Thats were our St Bernard came form. Everyone needs a second chance.

Great pictures Jay. Thanks for posting them. You are doing a great job as usual. I will be glad when winter comes so I don't have to do all the outside chores. Take care.

Wes I used a brush to apply the paint. I aways thin it with their thinner and use several coats. I was thinking about spraying the model, but with the size I would have probably need a car spry booth

Great tip Roger. I will be giving this one a try.

Wes I used Model Masters flat balck enamel. I like Model Masters flat colors and have good luck with them.

I don't know Steve, we must be having some of the same vibs. On August 12 I put down my best freind of 16 years Star a pit bull. I know how you feel. Now if you come up with a Saint Bernard I will really be suprised Take care

Looking good. Nice to see someone making a go at the 1812 version. Will be following with much interest.

Great Job Greg. I noticed on your build board there is nothing holding the keel straight. Is there a reason for this? I was wondering if it screwed from below.

I have the best luck with Hobby Lobby and Joanne Fabrics. It seem like Michaels is more of a craft store and has little for sewing. My wife is a quilter and turned me on to them. Once you determine which sizes you need the thread types will be easier to figure out. Right now I am leaning toward Coats and CLark, 30wt, 35wt and 50wt. and DMC and one called Lizebeth sizes 20 and 80 from Hobby Lobby. A lot of the bigger sizes of Cotton are fuzzy. I haven't tried dyeing any of the line yet and am wondering if the dyeing would cut down on the fuzzies.

I also have the Byrnes Ropewalk. I am presently making my line for the Constitution. Here is what I have learned so far. Do some experimenting. Scale will make a difference. The larger the scale the larger the line. The finished line will only be as good as the inital line you are using. If you want a morope type of line use nylon, or any synthetic type thread. I have found that this type will be a little shinny and you need to CA the ends so they won't unravel. I have decided to use the cotton type of line. I am using Coats and Clark cotton thread in sizes of 30wt,35wt and 50wt. With the cotton line it dosen't unravel like the synthetics, it is more of a flat or natural color and you can dye it to the color you want. You can glue it with dulited white glue and the glue will soak in and not show. Others have used DMC cotton, silk, and linen. As for the ropewalk itself you need to get familar with its operartion. You need to wind the line tight on the spools so you have an even takeup of the line. Tension is the key part. You are supplied some dyes where the line will go through. Don't have too big of an opening. Most thread comes with a right hand twist or clock wise twist. So when you make your inital twist be sure to twist it the opposite way or counter closkwise. Make small amounts of line to see how you like it. It is kind of like using a sewing machine without the needles. The one thing I do with the line is harden it a little by stretching it with weights. It give the line a tighter twist and less likely to unwind With the ropewalk you can make many sizes of line with the same inital thread. Just a combination of twists from single to two to three and son. Right now for the Constituion I am making some charts of the sizes I will need. My main reason for making my one line is the sizes I need. The kit provides you six sizes of line and a lot of them are not to scale. When I check the plans I came up with out 15 or more different sizes of line. So I am still in the process of figuring it all out. Most of all have some fun and see what you can come up with. It is a great machine and well built and Jim and Donna are great if you have any questions. Hope whis helped.

I am sure things well get better with time. So.....Put a smile on and go make some sawdust

Wow Steve thats a bummer. I guess it could have been a lot worse, but just knowing some things were taken really sets you back. Hopefully your modeling well help you get back at ease.

With Coats and Clark 30wt black cotton thread here is what I came up with: Coats and Clark 30 wt Cotton Thread 1 Strand 1 strand .007" or .17mm 2 strand .014" or .36mm 3 strand .017" or .43mm 4 strand .020" or .51mm 2 Strands 2 strand .014" or .36mm 4 strand .024" or .61mm (cable laid) 6 strand .028" or .71mm (cable laid) 8 strand .030" or .76mm (cable laid) 3 Strands 3 strand .017" or .43mm 6 strand .030" or .76mm (cable laid) 9 strand .035" or .88 mm (cable laid) With Coats and Clark 50wt black cotton thread here is what I came up with: Coats and Clark 50 wt Cotton Thread 1 Strand 1 Strand .006" or .16mm 2 Strand .015" or .38mm 3 Strand .018" or .46mm 4 Strand .021" or .54mm 2 Strand 2 Strand .015" or .38mm 4 Strand .023" or .58mm (cable laid) 6 Strand .027" or .68mm (cable laid) 8 Strand .032" or .81mm (cable laid) 3 Strand 3 Strand .018" or .46mm 6 Strand .030" or .76mm (cable laid) 9 Strand .035" or .89mm (cable laid) 4 Strand 12 Strand .043" or 1.09mm (cable laid) As you can see you have alot of combinations out of two sizes of thread. I have been happy with results. I am going to give it a try with some lighter color thread for the running rigging.

Looks like you are still having fun with boats. Also looks like you are becoming a good kit basher.

Here are some examples of the rope cards that I am making All the lines on the card are made with Cloats and Clark 30 wt cotton thread. I know it might hard to see but that is what my camera gives me.The twist detail is really good. You can see by the thread sizes you can get a lot combinations by increaseing the number of strands you twist. Still a lot more experimenting to do before I start to rig.

Great tip on forming the bow plank. Nice to see it all coming together for you.