JPAM

as I know that some of us are fans of the Liberty ships, i came across this passage and thought it would be worthwhile to share with the group. from HELMET FOR MY PILLOW; From Paris Island to the Pacific by Robert Leckie A Young Marine's Stirring account of combat in WWII 1957 Random House "Like all Liberty Ships, our vessel was anonymous. Oh, it had a name, but not one that you would remember for longer than it took to pronounce it. Squat, dark, uncomfortable, plodding ship, it served only to take us from place to place, like a ferry, without character, without interest, without adventure-anonymous. It was the first Liberty Ship within our experience, although it would not be the last, and of this unlovely brood, the Runner expressed our contempt. "You know," he said, gazing in disgust upon the crowded decks, talking above the ship's shuddering rattle, "they make these things on a weekend. They get a lot of people who have nothing to do and get them together in one place. Then they get them drunk. On Sunday night they have another one of these." He waved his hand to embrace not only our bovine beauty but that entire cowlike line of transports plowing north along the Australian coast. We ate on deck, and we also attended to our necessities on deck. A galley had been constructed above decks and there were also topsice heads. In a strong wind, we fought to keep our food down on those unmanageable instruments of exasperation we called our mess kits-or to keep it down in the stomach, once the wind blew from the heads. We had resumed taking atabrine pills. When one arrived at the end of the line, canteen cup of coffee in one hand, meal and mess kit balanced precariously in the other, an officer waiting there commanded one's mouth to open. Whereupon a medical corpsman flicked a yellow atabrine pill into the cavity. "Open your mouth, there." "ah, that does it." "You missed you fool!" "Hey, there-watch your food, Urgh! You clumsy.....watch it, watch it!....." "I can't help it Lieutenant - the damned ship rolled.....! I highly recommend this book if you are into first account wwII memoirs. Carry on.

ok boys n girls... this model is FINITO! i built the case out of single strength pane glass. the base is stained pine. i am trying to source brass L brackets to replace the copper tape and brass stips for the bottom of the glass. I added the 'Pali de Casada', those iconic striped mooring poles you find all over venice. They were originally lantern post so that people would be able to find the entrance to their Palazzos in the night. they are painted with different color swirls to denote different families, the red and white belong to the Foscari family in whose grounds the university is now placed, thus they are to be found throughout the city. on to the next one! IMG_2382.MOV IMG_2382.MOV IMG_2382.MOV boat.zip

das ist fantastisch. Was für ein wundervolles Modell und was für eine schöne Arbeit du geleistet hast. Gute Arbeit!

i understand your question, however i don't believe it's a certain kit that makes the best model but the modeler and how much care is put into the work. I agree that some manufacturers use better woods and have more interesting subjects but that is subjective, I have my favorite ktis, that may not necessarily be someone else's. and yes, Corel's - Wappen von Hamburgyes, is exceptional.

grazie mille!!

CIAO! so the Sandolo is basically finished. i painted one of the oars and sanded down the forcolas. painted hull et al. this has not really been a how to build log but still, i hope informative in the history of these boats. here is the manufacturer's website on the step by step build http://www.veniceboats.com/it-modelli-kit-sandolo-1-18.htm next i will build a case for it and then i'll be done done. i am considering installing in the case one or two red and white 'Pali di Casada, https://www.theveniceinsider.com/colourful-poles-landmark-venice/ i was origianlly thinking two (one has to be slightly skewed) by the bow, and one near the stern, but i fear that might detract from the model and so perhaps just one? what do y'all think? also for pedestals i may do clear acrylic dowels or a pair of thin brass rods.

Bawnjorno.... and happy Valentines Day. so after both shelves were installed it was next time to paint the topside. i did decide to go with a flat black. once the paint is on i've been rubbing it with a scotch pad to add a little bit of sheen to it. also I duplicated the color of the floors, on the transom and bow, as i saw a web picture with such a design. next up is the oars and the forcolas, the most important part of these boats and what makes them truly unique. those will take some doing. I am also contemplating some sort of base. i've been thinking about making a cross section of the Venetian Mooring posts that are candy striped as a base, but i fear that would be too gimmicky.. like some tchotchke you would purchase in a souvenir shop. I quickly vetoed it. I want this model to have a little more integrity than that.

excellent, thank you Bob for that great report. I personally am glad we went back to the original Jack, it's just prettier, in many ways. Regardless I too find this sort of history fascinating. I used to sail with a captain that observed stric colors at 08:00 and sunset. flag etiquette is a decorum of yachting that I believe is important, if only as yet another redundancy for communication. it's also a clear indication of who knows their stuff and who, well.... doesn't really...

I recently came across a painting in a museum of a what looked to be an early 1900's steam ship in motion plowing through the waves with all manner of flags hoisted. what caught my attention is that it was also flying the US Jack, (the canton of the standard us flag) I was always under the impression that the jack was to be flown only by Naval vessels and then only while moored or at anchor. was I wrong? i'm hoping some of y'all navy folks will enlighten me.

the ribs and the stringers have been painted, installed and glued, as has been the deck or more accurately, shelf. this piece has to be sanded at a bevel for it to fit the inside of the hull. I am still playing around with colors. these boats are painted a high gloss. I usually don't paint my models and when i do always use flat paints for them to look scale. the flat however on this wood, wich is very thirsty, looks rather dull and dead. but the gloss looks out of scale and thus out of place. so i need to find a semi gloss or satin (ideas?) . i've ditched the dark blue topside idea in favour of a black painted topside.

HEY! wellcome fellow raleigh modeler! i just looked up the Vaporeto, (i've not been to Venice) and yes, what a cool boat. i am a big fan of ferries, water busses and working boats in general.

colors... colors.. so as we have learned the Gondolas where painted black, but the working Sandolos are all over the map in hues. Mitch has told me that as a result of a reggae resurgence and weed amongst the young people of Venice, several of the Sandolos are painted in the Ethiopian green, gold and red. while I am all down with Reggae and weed I think a more traditional and demure color scheme for this build, thus i've decided light blue interior, red floor, dark blue topside, black hull and white ribs, just four colors. several dark blue ones show up on google images, thus the inspiration.

more on History, here is a video on the evolution of the Venetian gondola, wich is a version of the Sandolo. this is a brilliant article by Sean Wilsey that describes the handling of a Sandolo as well as the Venitian culture of their boats. Very much worth the read. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/22/open-water enjoy. JP

thanks bob. these are a fun and different exercise from the rigged ships i usually build. That Amati kit you have is a good one that builds a gorgeous model