alross2

I don't remember the source BJ uses offhand, but can find out for you. Essentially, it is resin-infused paper. When used with a properly set laser, it can produce extremely fine detail without burnout. The thinnest I've seen so far is .011". I normally use .015", .025", and .035", but think you can get it up to .060". This is the pilot house for OREGON. It is two layers of .015" laserboard bent around a former that will be included in the kit. When I tried it in 1/64" ply, many of the vertical pieces of the lower panels simply burned out. With the laserboard, there's hardly even any scorching on the back side.

If it works, use it! In the kits I develop for BlueJacket, I've gone to laser board for many applications where I used to use 1/64 and 1/32 ply. It bends easily, has no grain, and produces very delicate parts with sharp edges.

Some of the photo-etched coal scuttles.

Bow section with most of the bases for the various bits and pieces.

It never fails. We have two nice chain stops in the fittings - neither one fits OREGON. So, I made up a brass master this AM from brass tube, brass channel, and solder. There will be four per kit.

The best way to remove it is not to get it... I don't get it very often because I double or triple mask, first with pin striping tape (1/16' or 1/8"), then an overlap of 1/4" tape, then another overlap with low tack painter's tape (and paper if it's a large surface. Still, stuff happens sometimes. The underbleed I normally get is between the hull and a bright finished deck. In most cases, I use a very sharp #11 blade and cut alongside any objects against which the underbleed rests. This gives a nice sharp edge to end against when scraping. Then, depending on the size of the area around the paint, I scrape with the grain towards the sharp edge using a variety of chisel blades and a razor blade. You need a gentle touch and to keep the blade vertical. If it's paint on paint, now you have a definite problem. If it's gloss paint and the base coat is well cured, you can use a Q tip dipped in a mild thinner and lightly swab aqay the underbled color. Sometimes you can use automotive polishing compound and a soft cloth on some paints, as well. In all probability, with a paint on paint problem, you're probably going to have to remask and repaint. FAIR WARNING: I seldom brush paint any large surface. Generally, I use an airbrush and sometimes a rattle can. Consequently, I'm not sure how well this would work with a brushed surface.

Test fitting one of the twelve gunner's grates to the inside of the hammock net structure. The brass section at the ladder is 3/8" tall. The white strip is .020" styrene.

Starting to put on the little stuff. This is the aft portion of the main deck with bitts and hatches.

A little history on this kit - When Jeff and Suzi Marger owned BlueJacket, Suzi wanted a kit that a kid could build without any tools other than sandpaper. I came up with this basic design of a typical skiff you might find on a lake here in Maine. It's not exactly to scale, but close and kids had fun building it.

OK, bottom color on this AM. After peeling away all of the masking tape, I found some underbleed on the deck, but that's easily removed. The next activity will be adding the photo-etched coal scuttles and bases for the deck furniture. The waterline masking was a little tricky, as it is 1/16" below the top of the armor belt. I taped off the hull along the top of the armor belt with 1/4" striping tape, then used 1/16" striping tape below that. Regular painters' masking tape was applied from the 1/16" tape up. The first layer of color was from rattlecan of red primer, followed by an airbrushing of flat red.

Finish coat of white is now on the hull and superstructure and the mast is finished except for the binnacle and railing, which won't go on until the mast is in place on the model. Like Comment Share

The sponsons below the overhang of the 6" casemates are a simple shape but a bugger to get right.

I'm working on the OREGON instructions today and decided the text on setting the bilge keels needed an enhanced illustration to accompany the jig illustration. The dimension from the rudder post to the aft end of the bilge keel will be filled in when I get back to the model in my shop and measure it.

For sale - complete, numbered set (#590 of 2000). Most have only been looked at a couple times. I wrote a chapter on Coastal Forces in THE ECLIPSE OF THE BIG GUN volume. $600 US including media mail shipping in continental US.

You go, Mark! If I get a call from someone having a problem with one of the kits I developed, first thing I ask them is whether they read the instructions. If not, I tell them to back and read them, then call me. Because there is so much laser and photo-etch, there is a specific sequence to be followed that isn't necessarily intuitive. I used to develop training materials and procedures for the nuclear power industry and taught technical writing at a college.