mtaylor

Crab is it? Rats. Here I had some medium rare steak in a baggie for bribery.

Sounds like a plan Mike. Go for it.

Excellent point's Daniel. If we look at the work on Vasa, they did small samples early on from here and there about the ship and determined she was basically blue at the bulwarks and the sculptures were gold. Further research in detail showed that the bulwarks (external) were red and figures were multicolored and rather colorful. I suspect this is still too early to say yes or no the Vic's colors.

Beyond amazing metalwork.

The red wasn't picked to hide the blood which is a myth. The red (as well as white) was cheap and frequently re-applied. The gundeck on French ships could be either red or white depending on level. Gun carriages most usually were red but for modeling... wood works well. The French model builders usually don't use paint at all but "paint with wood" such that the carriages and bulwarks on the gundeck would most likely be Swiss pear.

Model Expo sells a wooden box with 20 different small bits from size 61 to 80 for a pretty reasonable price: https://modelexpo-online.com/MT2001-Set-of-100-Number-Drills-5-each-of-61-80-in-a-Wood-Box-Pin-Vise_p_1411.html

Not a bad idea, Marc. Start it a topic in the Research area when you're ready so others can contribute. https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/forum/13-ships-plans-and-project-research-general-research-on-specific-vessels-and-ship-types/

Are your eyes crossing yet, Carl. Mine cross just looking at the photos.

The muzzle flash is tough to catch on photos unless you're taking a time exposure in low light. Getting the shutter to sync and be open for the flash is tough to do and seems (in my experience) to be more of luck than skill. I never did get a good muzzle blast shot when I was in 'Nam and I did seem to waste a lot film trying.

Ah, brings back fond memories of Saturday nights and sometimes Sundays at the drag strip. The funny cars and the AA Fuel dragsters were loud and the burnout burned the eyes and lungs... and the smell of the nitro fuel. Looking good so far, Denis. Looks like you'll do a bang up job on this one.

Kevin, I just agree with what the others have said. We're all kindred spirits here and having support when you have a question and having other eyeballs looking over your shoulder is a big help.

Hi Bill. Welcome to MSW.

Looks like load resistors to drop the voltage and/or limit the current for the LED lighting on board, Joe.

I think I got rid of the two you wanted, Grant. Impressive build and hope you don't try to fly it.

I have one of the "early" ModelExpo machines that's been heavily modified due to a tube breaking and water creating problems. Instead of the original 40W (ok... 30W in reality) it's similar to the Chinese K40s, but it now has a beefed up power supply, and the tube is now a true 50W with an extender on the laser case to allow for and protect the extra length. It only has a 12X12 bed area but the machine is physically about as large as I can go in the current workshop. The base cause was the water pump (an aquarium type is standard for these) died. I replaced it with a refrigerated cooler from lightobject.com which has been goto source for all parts. Here's a link to rebuild, this was the major upgrade before the tube broke and the power supply blew.

Heinrich, They did use sliding doors for the officers "facilities" later on but in the period of this ship, probably not. That's why i think they may have paralagrams as such as the one I've sketched below. I've seen that shape on some of the older ships with the massive stern balconies and also for the doors to the officier's facilities and the captain's or admiral's "office" in the galleries. When it opens, the bottom clears the deck and the top clears the beams. It may have to have flipped top to bottom depending the deck and beams camber along with the rise in the deck as it goes aft.

Thanks for the likes and the comments. I love the smell of sawdust in the morning because it smells like something getting done.... Not quite the famous line, but it works for me. Just realized I needed to order more Yellow Cedar from Chuck. My stash of other species is a bit light in the small thickness so it's either mill what I have from somewhat bulk pieces or order. I think I'm just going to need the cedar for now as I have the stock to finish the hull including the two weather decks. Pat, I do love the laser. I really wish I had more to cut on the at this point. But it looks like odds and ends from hear on out. Next ship it'll get a workout. No need to look at their website, Roger. I'm well stocked with their books. Yes, very distinctive features. I have the plans for the Belle Poules boats and using them as a baseline. Since this one is the low boat on the stack at midships, I'm having to sort through what I will be leaving off besides the thwarts and what I have to include like the 4 cannon posts, the rear roller, and the stern seat. Some of these fittings will have to wait until the next boat is built to ensure proper fit of the "rack" inside to stack the next one up. With all 3 being stacked midships, the uppermost (the cutter) will get the full interior treatment. So, I'm trying stay a few steps ahead on things. I just realized I've messed up the terminology. The largest is the "longboat", next size down is the "barge" and then the "cutter". All similar too but not quite the same as other countries boats. Even the best laid plans of mice and men run afoul of Mr. Murphy. Damn, I forgot how much fun and work this is. The fun and satisfaction make up for the work.

Lovely work, Mark.

Seems like it's been forever what with numerous personal issues that needed solving but it's time for an update. And it feels great to be back in the shop and doing something again. The build jig has the main framing pieces installed, checked for fit and still needs a bit of tweeking to level out for the planking Today I grabbed the bull by the tail and stared the situation squarely in the face, in a manner of speaking. I laid out and cut the planking for the boat. There's still a couple pieces uncut but I'm holding off as those are the last ones installed and need to be trimmed to fit. Overall, I'm most impressed with the Yellow Cedar. Hopefully, over time it will fade in color a bit. It cut nicely and cleanly and minimal smoke except for some places on the "hidden" side (last photo) where the beam exits the wood there is some splotching which appears to be sap popping and discoloring the wood. I think a bit of sanding will take care of that. Could also be that the table the wood sits on needs a good cleaning.

Finally got around to cutting wood. And I'm pretty darn happy with the Yellow Cedar on the laser. Cut's clean, a bit of smoke here and there and after making some test cuts, Chuck's advice about low power and slow speed are spot on. It just took some testing to find out low the power could go. Anyway, here's the pictures of 1/32" sheet cut for planking my "large" ship's boat. First one is the topside of the sheet, and the second shows the bottom sides with some splotches where it appears that some sap "popped". I've seen this in other woods, so wasn't surprised by it. Edit: Note to self, order more Cedar....

Happy New Year from me also, Nenad. That winch is tiny and detailed. Makes me smile also.

Looking pretty darn good there, Chris. Overall, what's your impression of the kit and instructions? I have the small boats and sometimes it's a bit of the reach to figure things out.

Could be any number of things Mark. Last kit I bought in a hobby shop had been on the shelf for several years but one would think with the internet being the marketplace that turnover would be pretty quick. Could have been humidity, etc. occurred during shipping... who knows.