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HMS Snake As requested by a user on this forum I will show all the contents of this kit, The other snake builds do not have this it seems. I ordered the kit with some extras (cannon balls, Snake paint set) and a few other things. I will start work on it in a few weeks, Just need to finish up the running rigging on the Sherbourne and make her a display case. All of the fittings are good quality and even the blocks seem to be of highers quality that what came with the Sherbourne. The Caronades are rough looking but the cast is aligned they just need a some work. The bag of copper plates is surprisingly heavy! The wood strips are so much better than what I had on my Sherbourne, they are all well milled and don't look like a dog chewed them. The dowels are mostly strait. The Tanganyika strips are a bit weird as in one side is darker that the other on most of the strips so I will have to keep that in mind while laying the deck. The plans are just huge and there are 7 sheets! The instruction manual is just a few pages though as it is one of Caldercrafts older kits, it's not to bad because it makes you reference the full size plans. The cutouts are one of the highlights I feel. The CNC cuts are good they just have a bit of fuzz in them but I think it beats laser cut char any day. The keel has just a slight bend which will be easily adjusted. Everything else is solid. And finally the paint set plus some extras I bought. I thought they would have been smaller given the price so I'm pleased. -c

Hej, it's not that I wanna stop the build of my Sherbourne, it's just that there is so much detailstuff to do, and I can't concentrate on that very good atm. So I decided to start the build of the USS Syren and switch, depending on my mood, between these builds I could complete chapter 1 today. Knee of the head: My babys together And the mermaid Cheers, Dirk

Hello all Now is the time to start my second build log since I have finished the Americas Cup Endeavour. I am more interested in warships of the age of sails so it feels natural to build Sherbourne as a second kit. The ship is not so big but still has all features of a period ship. The main purpose of this build is to learn as many skills as possible so I can not tell how the finished model will look like. I will scratch and replace many parts in the kit just to learn how to do it. The model will be of darker but better walnut than supplied in the kit. I bought it in a local hobby shop here in Helsingborg and I think it is Amati's replacement wood. As sources for the build I will use AOTS Alert, Rigging period for and after craft and other books that I find fits. I will also pick ideas from Chucks cutter Cheerful and of course from the very nice Sherbournes by Gregor, Dirk, Tony and Kester. I hope you don't mind I follow some of your ideas . Ps, Some of the pictures are to small. You will see the full photos if you click (open) on them.

As I'm slowly approaching the end (or at least the beginning of the end) on HMS Snake, I gratefully received what will be my next installment for my birthday. Don't expect much progress as I want to keep working on HMS Snake as time permits, but I wanted to have the kit in my hands so I can start to do some planning ahead, and most importantly, get my order in for some upgraded wood. I also want to take advantage of the warm weather to get the larger sanding jobs done outside if I can. I plan to take the first planking slowly to avoid repeating errors and to hopefully ensure I can get the lines as close as possible to the plans. I had a great experience with my Caldercraft Snake, and after trying to evaluate other kits out there, decided to stay in the family due to the expected kit quality, interest in the subject matter and availability of aftermarket items. I've been vacillating between HMS Agamemnon and HMS Diana for some time, but what finally swayed me was getting a copy of the AOTS Diana book which I'd like to follow as closely as possible as skills permit. Initial thoughts on the kit and approach: I'm going to build her as HMS Jason, the 5th of the 9 built Artois-class frigates. Don't think this will mean any significant deviations, but I have downloaded the plans from NMM, and there is of course the narcissistic additional interest for me . This will require me to change the figurehead, I have thought through options. While not quite a beautiful as the Diana admiralty models with open quarterdeck rails, I do plan to build her as she was when completed with the build up quarterdeck bulwarks. My reading indicates that most, if not all, would have had this feature when actually launched as it was back in fashion. Wood - The supplied walnut does not look great, not a surprise and this seems to be a (sadly) common factor in CC kits. I have decided to upgrade/change the wood, and will probably go with boxwood for the external hull, and maple for the deck as I'll try to replicate the decking in the AOTS book which Ray so successfully handled on his build. I'll keep the walnut below the waterline where possible to save on cost as this will be coppered . Instructions - Poor, but as expected. I hope this won't present too many challenges, and hope my initial experience on Snake will get me through OK. Copper plates - The CC plates get a bad rap, and I don't think they are as bad as commonly perceived when looking at a completed hull. That being said, I would like to try to replace them with Amati ones which look very authentic if finances allow (on a "cost per year" basis, this is easier to justify given my slow pace) Armament - The HMS Jason plans show her with 6 identical ports on her quarterdeck, suggesting the original 9lb'er configuration. The kit provides a mix between carronades and cannons with differences in the gun port configuration and size. I may change this but we'll see. Quality - Overall, I do like the quality of the kit, CC do provide some high quality parts that are correct scale. Where I know the kit provided items will not be up to it, I'll replace/upgrade those (pumps, blocks, rigging line etc). The keel and bulkheads are very solid. I have plenty more thoughts, but will keep those to myself for now. Onwards and upwards! The box, manuals and part identification Frames and pre-cut parts The wood strips Photo-etch All of the really small bits still in box until inventoried

It's time to start the log Sometimes I need some rough stuff to do, with all my 3 other builds I'm in a stage of more fiddeling detailed things ... so I decided to start a fourth build ... I need sawdust ... haha ... girlfriend is not amused Intro: "On January 23, 1777, Congress "Resolved, That two frigates, one of 36, and the other of 28 guns, be immediately undertaken in the state of Connecticut." The "Confederacy" and her little sister the "Alliance". For more historical informations I suggest reading the introduction of Chuck's (as always) great instructions. Check here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/1395-downloadable-instructions-for-the-model-shipways-confederacy-kit/ I bought the kit a while ago via ebay auction because I'm a bit lazy to go full scratch. I always regret that, haha. I guess 90% will be replaced so I call this build a semi scratch (which is actually totally irrelevant, I mean how to call it ) The wood will be mostly pear, hornbeam, maybe holly and some ebony, not sure about that yet. The crappy ME casted guns are replaced by Chuck's brass guns and I were lucky about the figurehead as Chuck found one last one somewhere in his shop No words about the ME figurehead ... Daniel Dusek is my man to mill a lot of parts for me :-) Daniel is kind, helpful, fast and I really love his work (and wood). One of the good guys LIVING his job by heart (as Chuck do too)! Parts milled and/or lasered by Daniel: My dedicated Confederacy sources are: * Chucks plans & instructions * THE CONTINENTAL FRIGATE "CONFEDERACY" by Douglas H. Robinson * NMM Plans of the renamed Confederate * Chapelle "The History of the American Sailing Navy" * Harold M. Hahns "Ships of the american revolution" and his plans * Model Shipwright article by Justin Camarata ================================================================== When I got the kit the first inspection was disappointing. I knew about the bad casts but a lot of sheets seemed to be burned with a overheated laser and the plywood was warped as s**t ... and just to thick. Even I prefer to get good stuff at the first I'm happy about ME's replacement philosophy. Some weeks later I could pick the stuff up at the customs and PAY TAX again for the parts (I allready paid tax for ... yeah!)... I hate this. The boxwood sheets where ok now, the 2nd plywood was even crapier then the first one. Quality control for the win! At this time the decision grew up to redo most of the parts in pear. Still the damn sheep plywood. 2nd replacement of the plywood: To make the story short I get in direct contact with Marc Mosko the CEO of ME and after a while and some very kind conversation he sent me another replacement with a super great plywood. Yes it looks more expensive (sure it is though ...) but I really really hope ME changes his mentality about that and will use the better plywood in future! It's lightweight, stable, correct in thickness, laserchar is easier to remove, kinda no splinter when sanding, it's eye pleasing ... and so on ... love it! New plywood: Comparison of 2nd and 3rd replacement: Anyway, while waiting for the 3rd replacement (and honestly - sorry Marc - not 100% confidental if I will get one ... hehe ...) I tried to do the best with what I had. Now I have a testbuild too My testbuild While working on my testbuild I discovered a major problem with the stem. As you can see on the plan the stem is shown in single parts (which the lasered parts are made from) and as a whole. But, these parts are NOT equal: Both stems overlayed (green is the stem as a whole and the correct one), you can see the problem: This might work out with basswood as you can bend it a bit to fit to the bulkhead former but no way with pear, the whole assemble ist too "high": A way to kinda fix it is to shorten parts S2 & S3: Fixed steam V1: cheers, Dirk

It was in summer 2014 when I had the idea to build the French light Schooner “La Jacinthe” after the plans of Jean Boudriot. Together with five sisters she was launched in 1823, and in the following year five more ships were built, among them “La Mutine” (“The Rebel”). As my cutter HMC Sherbourne she should be in 1:64 scale, so I scanned the plans and traced bulkheads and false keel in a way so I could build everything with plywood of 3mm. For that I used Adobe Illustrator, so I could laser cut the pieces in the FabLab of the local technical university. “Printed out” in late summer, you can see here the bulkheads, false keel and deck, a few small parts and a piece for a jig that will help me to build a cutter. When I wanted to start building, alas, I saw that the false keel was totally warped. So I had to go to the university again, and cut everything again, but this time in MDF. And while I was at it, I did everything twice. Just for testing purpose I cut keel, stem etc., I will user these parts as templates when working with pear wood. In the upper left corner you can see a jig that will act as a bulkhead former. But why do everything twice? I simply couldn’t decide: build the “Jacinthe” or the “Mutine”? The latter is shown in Boudriot’s book, after a refit in 1835. The main differences are closed and elevated bulkheads, new deck layout, iron pumps and anchor chains, a steering wheel, new chains and a new bowsprit, set in a different angle – in general, the “Mutine” appears much more seaworthy than the very lightly built “Jacinthe”. So the plan is to build both: a fully rigged “Jacinthe” in natural pear wood, and a hull model of a black-painted, coppered “Mutine”. The twin build should not be boring or repetitive. Well, have to build two identical hulls, but all the other details mentioned promise to be sufficiently different from each other to make this a very interesting project. Here a look of the two schooners, “La Jacinthe” (1823) ans “La Mutine” (1835): The foundation is already laid: the two sisters can hardly be told apart yet. This will be a slow build, and quite an adventure; my only experience in building wooden models is the Sherbourne kit, which I modified to my liking and where I learned the pleasure of working from scratch. And as I have to do the heavy sanding outside, progress is dependent of the weather (yes, the with stuff is snow, for those having the privilege of living in a moderate climate). Cheers, Gregor

Hello to you all fellow builders, As you know , Mobbsie has ordered the HMS Agamemnon for me and finally she is in dry dock in Schiedam. I will not start on her . I have first finish the Le Mirage. But when you have a new kit in the house , you want to show it. That's the reason why I open a build log…... First of course a little history lesson and later on the pictures of all the stuff that is in the box. When I start on her I know I need a lot of help and advise from all of you. I have a few great examples of other Aggy's and I know that Mobbsie will be there for me if needed. So let the lesson begins and hopefully it will not take to long when I can start building her. Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon 1781 1:64 HMS Agamemnon 1781 64 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line 1:64 Scale. The Agamemnon was one of seven ships built to the same design, drawn by the same naval architect that designed the famous Victory, Sir Thomas Slade. Agamemnon was the third to be built in the class, the first two being Ardent in 1762 and Raisonnable, laid down in 1763. Third was Agamemnon, followed by Belliqueux in 1778, Stately in 1779, Indefatigable in 1781 and finally the Nassau in 1783. A Third Rate ship of the line like Agamemnon was an expensive warship to build. The construction of the ship’s hull with yards and masts fitted cost the Admiralty £20,579 (in today’s terms, approximately £12 million), a figure that did not include ordnance, sails, hemp, copper plating and other hardware. For three of the most crucial decades in British naval history, Agamemnon always seemed to be at the centre of the action, having no less than eleven battle honours. Agamemnon’s maiden voyage was on 9th July 1781 under the command of Captain Caldwell. Her first engagement was at the battle of Ushant on 12th December 1781 where the British fleet under Rear Admiral Kempenfelt defeated the French fleet and captured a significant number of ships, including the convoy the French were escorting. Agamemnon’s next major engagement was at the Battle of The Saints on 12th April 1782 where Rodney and Lord Hood’s fleet defeated Comte de Grasse’s French fleet. On 7th January 1793, Nelson learned from Lord Hood that he had been chosen to command his first ship of the line, the Agamemnon. Although initially disappointed that he had not been given command of a 74, Nelson soon grew fond of Agamemnon. Nelson wrote to his wife, Fanny. She was, he said, "Without exception one of the finest ships in the fleet, with the character of sailing most remarkably well". He also wrote after twelve days in a storm in the Mediterranean in "Gales and lumping seas but in Agamemnon we mind them not; she is the finest ship I ever sailed in, and were she a 74, nothing should induce me to leave her while the war lasts". Even a French Commander Admiral Alemand expressed the view that Agamemnon was one of the fastest ships in the British Navy. That, coupled with Nelson’s inspirational command made her a very potent fighting unit. Nelson commanded Agamemnon, or "eggs and bacon" as her crew affectionately called her, until 10th June 1796. In that time Nelson had proved to be a great Commander, tactically and physically. It was during his command of Agamemnon that Nelson lost the sight of his right eye. When at the Siege of Calvi in 1794 during the morning of 10th July, Nelson was hit in the face and chest by splinters, stones and sand that were thrown up by an enemy shell that hit a battlement during a shore action. On 13th June 1796, Nelson’s broad pennant was transferred to the 74 gun Captain at anchor in San-Fiorenza bay. He watched the worn out Agamemnon sail to England for a much-needed refit. She was refitted from the bottom up at Chatham. When re-commissioned in 1797 she was ordered to join Admiral Duncan’s squadron off Yarmouth, which was keeping watch on the coast of Holland. She was immediately caught up in the naval mutinies of that year. Agamemnon was however considered untrustworthy by Richard Parker the leader of the Nore mutineers and had the guns of the mutinous ships trained on her to ensure she did not ‘blackleg’. Subsequently in the proceedings that followed all thirteen of Agamemnon’s crew who were tried were pardoned. Agamemnon’s next major fleet engagement was the battle of Copenhagen on the 21st April 1801. Unfortunately she was grounded on a shoal for most of the action, but Nelson won the battle and a truce with Denmark was negotiated. On the 21st October 1805 Agamemnon took part in the battle of Trafalgar. When Nelsons favorite ship hove in sight a week before, with Nelsons old friend Sir Edward Berry in command of the Agamemnon, Nelson was delighted "Here comes that damned fool Berry! Now we shall have a battle." At Trafalgar the 27 British ships of the line defeated the Franco Spanish fleet of 33 line of battle ships in a victory that ensured British supremacy of the sea for the next 100 years. Later in Agamemnon’s career, she served in the West Indies, taking part in the battle of Santo Domingo, and then in South American waters. Agamemnon was wrecked in Maldonado Bay off the coast of Uruguay on the 16th June 1809. Divers have recently discovered the remains of HMS Agamemnon on the bottom of Maldonado Bay, after a six-year search by marine archaeologists. Strewn around the site are hundreds of copper plate, as well as a 24 pounder cannon, parts of the pumping devices as well as a significant amount of shot, bolts and copper nails. Also discovered was a silver pocket seal, complete with fob chain. On its face of translucent stone it bore a star shaped emblem with the name ‘Nelson’ in mirror image incised in a curve above. Agamemnon was laid down at Bucklers Hard in May 1777 and launched on the 10th April 1781. Her dimensions were as follows; Gun deck - 160 feet 2 inches Keel- 131 feet 10 1/4 inches Beam - 44 feet 5 inches Tonnage - 1384 tons Guns; Twenty-six, twenty-four pounder - Gun deck. Twenty-six, eighteen pounder - Upper deck. Twelve, nine pounder - Quarterdeck. Complement - 491 officers and ratings. The Caldercraft Agamemnon kit features: Double plank on bulkhead construction, Keel and bulkheads are CNC cut in Birch ply as are all the major constructional parts. Extensive use of CNC cut Walnut has been employed for the majority of visible structures and fittings. The wood strip pack contains Lime wood for the first planking, Walnut for the second planking and Tanganyka for the decks. Ramin dowel is supplied for the masts and yards. Walnut and etched brass stern gallery windows, with the remaining tafrail decoration in finely cast white metal. Scale brass cannon barrels with walnut carriages. Rigging thread is supplied in natural and black to rig the model as depicted in the photographs. Beechwood deck gratings and Walnut Blocks and deadeyes. Shroud cleats, trucks, stunsail yard brackets as well as CNC cut Walnut tops, crosstrees, trestle trees, mast caps and a wealth of unique detail parts. Copper plates are provided to sheath the hull bottom. Fully detailed full size plans and a comprehensive construction manual. Specifications: Scale: 1:64 Length: 1300mm Width: 490mm Height 945mm Planking: Double

Well, I'm a little late starting this building log, but it's been an interesting model to build, so I thought I'd share my experiences. Hope it's helpful, anyway. I'm hoping this will be an opportunity to try out some new skills and improve my planking skills before attempting something a bit larger! First off, a quick look at the kit itself. It comes in a small, but really nice and sturdy box, with everything packed in very neatly. The instructions are much more simple than the instructions for Pickle (a more recent kit, I believe), and reading them through I was glad I'd built Pickle first. Nevertheless, having build Pickle, these are perfectly adequate. The plans are excellent, and give lots of detail, including step by step illustrations for the construction of the hull. Looking closely you'll see the the walnut ply used for the cannon carriages and capping rails has been cut out right to the edge... on the other side this has led to a slight split going through the capping rail itself, but nothing too major, and it should be simple enough to put right (I'll mount it good side up!) So far I've found that all the materials are provided with plenty to spare, just as with Pickle. [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

The following is the reconstruction of my build logs for the Sherbourne following temporary loss of the Model Ship World Site in February 2013. First posted May 6th 2012. === It started with a birthday present in January of £200 from my daughter. What could I possibly want that would have some meaning over the year? I suddenly remembered that as a younger chap I had really enjoyed rigging plastic model ships, and had had a long-time yearning to work with wood. So on to the web, find out about ship models. Amazon for books, found 'The New Period Ship Handbook' by Keith Julier. It didn't give much (any) detail, but I thought maybe the Lady Nelson would be good. So researched that. Found this forum. Many days reading the variety of experience. Asked questions, thought about the Chatham as well, tried to get it but it was out of stock, so bought the Sherbourne Kit. My plan was not to go for the perfection of the other builds, but to get a basic understanding of the whole process, as I knew I would be making some frightful mistakes, and likely to be a bit messy as well. How right I was! Read all the planking advice on the Database, how to make filler blocks etc, then plunged in. Bought the kit, checked all the parts, stuck the tiddly little ones into the bags in the photo, put the frame together. Thought I'd be a clever little so-and-so and follow Danny's suggestion of inserting nuts in the hull to take pedestals at some future date. Even lined the bolts up with the bulkheads and epoxied the nuts in -- ensuring no glue was caught in the threads. All well and good ... so far.

Greetings Friends; It has been over a year since I have posted on this forum. For any who are interested in the travels of fellow captains I share briefly......Following my completion of my USS Constellation Model of which I was quite proud, I was looking forward to my next project. This was delayed by the birth of my first child; a daughter Clara. Apparently it is much easier to sneak away to the Shipyard when the Admiral is sleeping off her third Trimester than it is during the first 4 months of newborn-hood. So suffice to say, sharp objects and bits of wood flying about were not in the plan for me. Then, in mid-summer I suffered a serious accident. I don't care to get into the details but long story short I lost the use of my right eye. It was traumatic for me and there was quite a recovery before I was able to resume my regular routine. I found adjusting to the loss of biopic vision to be quite difficult and still find depth perception to pay tricks on me at close range. By the fall I had recovered enough that I began testing my hand at some of the many activities I enjoy so dearly which require the use of my sight. I began painting miniatures again and found it quite difficult, but not impossible to manage a brush on a 28mm figure once again. I practiced a lot and am almost, but perceptively not quite, back to where I was. Then a few weeks ago this kit fell into my lap. A friend of a friend found it in a garage sort of thing and to my surprise it was 100% in tact with even the receipt (2002?) in the box. My questions as to if I could still manage model ship building with only one eye is about to be answered. All without spending any money up front on the experiment. So without further ado......my build log for Mamoli's Blue Shadow US Brig.

I started this build four or five years ago. We moved across country and haven't lived in a place I could set up shop until recently so am now outfitting a new shop while I restart this project. Many pieces on the bulkheads broke in the move so I basically started by glueing all those back together. I also just added the aft filler blocks and am roughing them in.

So this will be my 3rd build and my first model shipways kit. Up front I am impressed with the supplied kit. After inventory the any issue was some broken or bent cannons. I have read extensively about model shipways customer service so we will see how that works out. Oh yea and just to let everyone know up front I am an absolute F.U.N.G. So most of the proper terms for the parts of the ship are beyond me, but I am learning. Makes me wish I had payed a little more attention about navel history during boot camp. So here we go !

I am new to the Model Shipways community, and I suspect I am one of your younger members (born 1988 - anyone younger?). I grew up on an island in Maine and was always around boats, and my whole life I have been doing something boat-related in one way or another. The neighborhood kids had tree houses; I had a rowboat in the yard that my dad had turned into a kid-sized lobster boat. When I was growing up I made many simple boats from kits (the kind with a solid hull and like ten simple blocks that you glued on for detail). I had a Titanic phase some time before middle school: plastic models, paper models, and high-pitched lectures about waterproof compartments and buckling steel to anyone who would listen. In the last few years, I made two small plank-on-frame boats from kits, the first with my dad and the second on my own, after a crash course in plank bending from a neighbor who I wouldn’t be surprised to find on this forum. Last year my parents called me from a weekend getaway in a small town and said they had found the Rattlesnake kit, on sale, in a hobby store, and wanted to know if I would like it for my birthday. I thought it would be fun to get back into model ship building. At the time, my main hobby was an iPad app I was writing in my spare time, but that’s also partly my job, and it was a bit of a programming overload, and I wanted to do something in the real world for a change. I built my last models when I lived with my parents, so I had fun setting up a work bench in my apartment and getting new tools. I started with more or less nothing, and have bought tools only when I actually needed them. I didn’t know about the Model Ship World forums when I started my build. I wanted to document my progress, so I set up a tumblr account for this and other projects that I work on. I only found my way here when I started googling around with questions about this particular model, and discovered at least two other build logs for the same exact model. What an amazing resource! The first bunch of posts will be reposts of the same photos from tumblr, though I may embellish the text with technical details better suited for my fellow pintsize shipwrights. It seems customary to start with the box, so I will as well, along with a sneak peek of my current progress: I look forward to interacting with and learning from all of you as my build progresses. I welcome your feedback and questions, and I will have many questions of my own.

I started this project in summer 2012. I choose this kit after browsing and reading many of the build logs in MSW 1.0, and because it has only one mast (I’m not much of a seaman except in the rather romantic way of reading Patrick O’Brian’s novels for the second time). The box contained all the promised parts in an orderly fashion, and a very short/thin instruction booklet. But there is help: Watch and learn on MSW 2.0 (in my case especially from Tony’s Sherbourne at http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/335-hmc-sherbourne-by-tkay11-–-caldercraft-–-scale-164-1763-a-novice’s-caldercraft-sherbourne/) Download the construction manual of Caldercraft’s Brig Badger, it explains and illustrates a lot of the details (i.e. principle of hull construction, guns …) which are very similar to the Sherbourne (http://www.jotika-ltd.com/Pages/1024768/Manuals_Badger.htm) Buy George Bandurek’s book “Super-detailing the cutter Sherbourne” (http://www.grbsolutions.co.uk/5.html), an inspiring guide to make much more out of a beginners kit Keel, bulkheads and deck came first, then balsa fillers fore and aft. Then I soaked the plywood bulwarks before bending them with the help of tea mugs and a good bottle.

Wahooh! ... it arrived! After a long wait, my US Brig Syren finally managed to paddle across the pond and land in the UK. An interesting mix of nerves and excitement, but all good! I've decided to go for this particular kit as it's a model from a period that I particularly like, so it should keep me motivated throughout the long haul that I'll have ahead of me. Furthermore, as a total beginner I was looking for something that would be doable, yet be challenging whilst providing enough support through an excellent manual, the designer's presence on the forum here and a plethora of excellent build logs of other members. I also was keen on a plank-on-bulkhead model as it felt that it would stretch me a bit, whilst not being as challenging as a plank-on-frame model. The Syren it thus was. Yes, yes, I know... yet another Syren blog. :-) I've spend today unpacking everything (including some new hand tools that I had to order as my DIY equipment is too big and clumsy), categorising and counting everything. To my surprise, everything seems to be there although I had 11 pieces of a particular timber bit, rather than the required 17. I'll pick that up with Model Expo, no doubt they'll whiz over the missing 6 pieces. I don't think it'll hold me back any time soon though. I'm expecting progress to be slow. I'm a stickler for detail and a bit of a perfectionist, so things like this tend to take longer with me anyways. I also want to use it a bit as a test-bed for developing my modelling skills, so I want to try certain things on the ship that are perhaps a bit more advanced such as a bit of spiling of the hull planking, proper use of stealers and drop-planks, detailed tree-nailing and perhaps some other things, just to get my teeth stuck into it. Besides that, after ordering the kit we found out that my girlfriend is pregnant, that I got a new job which I'll be starting soon and that we're moving home. Yes, timing is impeccable as always with me! :-) It's like Xmas came early... or more likely, very late in this instance! Sorting, categorising and counting everything against the inventory log. A bit nervous about how small some of the pieces are, especially with my clumsy hands. Luckily I got some really good tweezers that should help me out! Kind regards, Martijn.

Hello, a few days ago I started a second project: The Russian brig Mercury. The original The Russian 20 gun brig Mercury (Меркурий) was laid down in Sevastopol on January 28, 1819 and launched on 7 May 1820. She was designed as a patrol ship to guard the Nothern Caucasus coast. The Mercury fought in many important naval battles during her career. The kit The weight of the box is really notable. The shipping details showing the kit weighed 6 kg. No wonder, the 5 mm MDF for keel and frames weighs more than plywood. Furthermore the kit contains many brass etched parts, 17 plan sheets, a flag set, a 20-page step-by-step instuction (hull assembly only) and much more. Scale: 1:64 Length overall: 860mm Height overall: 654mm I wonder why there are no building logs. In fact I found only one in a Russian forum. Is there something wrong with this kit? Or with the ship? Anyway, let‘s start! The false deck and the gundeck are a special feature of the kit. The planks are laser-engraved. It looks pretty nice. Unfortunately it‘s plywood. Next stage and the first problem was to fit the plywood gun port patterns. I‘ve soaked the parts for one hour, but for all that it wasn‘t possible for me bending the patterns vertically. So I planked the bulwark with 1x4 mm stripes. That means a little more work but much more easy on the nerves. Later on I can use the gun port pattern for marking the gunports. The planks are only glued among each other, not to the frames. And here we have the bulwark; still without the gunports:

Welcome to another Syren build log! I couldn't resist the Ebay bargain that I found of this kit on the Model Expo site, so I decided to make it my next project. Here is a sneak preview of how she was packed for shipping to my home city. I have to say that the overall care was impressive in the way the kit was packaged! Considering that it had to come all the way from the US to my home town in Australia, it arrived nicely. I have had a glimpse over the contents, and instruction manual/plans. I am very impressed with the level of detail in the instruction manual! The parts are nice and neatly packed, and it even included an apology letter stating that Model Expo was short on the Cannon Balls part. All I had to do was e-mail them and they will be sent free of charge! Great service! You can see why people on this forum have great things to say about Model Expo. For now I will leave it as a teaser preview of whats to come. I would like to finish my Mare Nostrum before beginning the Syren...although it is calling out to be built. I must hold off on the temptation, and complete my Mare! Regards Adam

Dear friends, am I "on a completly wrong steamer"? My thread is a little bit surrealistic because the kit is standing before my feet. But I have stifle the wish to start to built imediatly, because of a row of unfinished work/unanswered questions.. So I have forced myself to put her in the signature as "shelfware" as we call it in the IT: U.S.C.G. "Ranger" 1852 Corel-Kit No. SM 55 1/64 vel 1/48 L.: mm - 465 W.: 390 mm - H.: 220 mm Name & Authencity questionable The last line is most important for me. These doubts come from these few lines: USRC Ranger (1852) Corel Only Ranger was an early 1800s unarmed LHS schooner Corel's model has the lines of an early 1800s cutter, but the name is wrong Available coming out of the following source: www.coastguardmodeling.com/10_Questionable-Authenticity.html I have consulted these article in here: modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/801-usrc-ranger-by-trippwj-corel-164-scale/ I bought the kit as an 1:50 one with the idea to change it "up" to 1/48 - but now I've to do a much longer step 1/64 to 1/48. I want to use the moulded GK boat kit as a ship's boat for the revenue cutter - so this tww discussions are interwoven to each other. So I think about two ways to scale the cutter: Wayne took the kit as a 1/64 and is going this path with good progress - I could follow his way. Life will be fine! So I'm unhappy because I'd like to go to the bigger scale. But I think I might built these cutter in 1/48 as a smaller one and have to change the ergonomic details as stairs, doors, hatches, stancions, &c. And so I have consulted my Chapelle books and have till now no conclusion if I may be right. So what du YOU think abeut my idea - am I "on a completly wrong steamer" (that's German idiom for thinking in(-to?) a outright wrong direction)? And I also think aboiut the two ways to build them: I prefere the Alert stile - as a realistic used ship - on the othrhand the lines may stand out better to a clear background. What is your answer to this question how to show the attractive lines of the hull.. (Oh - this may be a questions to the girls aboard.) I allready know it's just a wooden kit and definitly not an oviparus fleece-giving and UHT-milk-producing fattening-sow of European Conformity (see bootom picture.) But I'll try to get most of my money. So thanks for reading and your intrest.

Well, after lurking here for just over a month, reading, studying and absorbing as much information, my first kit The US Brig Syren arrived from the US model expo after over a month delay. I must admit customer service from outside the US at Model Expo has been poor, and shipping was extremely slow and extortionate. Packaging was substandard, and I just hope nothing had been damaged in the crushed, non-padded box. 1st step is to clear some clutter from my work spaces. They are not really usable for anything at the moment. I've taken a few quick snaps of the box, the contents, and other items I've ordered. I will wait until I clear a nice spot, and distract the 3 yr old before opening the box, and getting the obligatory shots and item stocktake. This is where I do my office work, and occasional gaming. It needs a major sort My spare office is currently set up building a carbon fibre RC 6 turn brushless 1:10 buggy. I will maybe pack this away and use this zone. A very excited 3 yr old wanting to build a ship Substandard packing, with crushed box, tape not sealing all over and some random fish and chip paper. No bubble rap to cover to precious contents Out of focus picture showing the Syren box, a plank bender, some spare boxwood planks, a hull vice, micrometer, and draw plate. And here she is. The Syren in her box. I'll clear a work space, organise my tools, get some sandpaper, blocks, glue in the next few days. Unfortunately I'm Oncall for Obstetric emergencies tomorrow, and trauma Thursday, so I may be stuck at work for the next 48 hrs, but fingers crossed I get to open the box!