Phantom by Elijah - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:96 - New York Pilot Boat

[Elijah]

Hello again! It seems that I am going to have to wait until Saturday afternoon to build a building board. I the meantime I will probably do some small "jobs" around the shipyard. Perhaps I will clean it . Thank you for all the comments and support!

Until next time.

[Burroak]

Elijah your off to a great start. Go slow and steady on your build. There are many talented builders on MSW that can answer any question you might have along the way. I'm on my first build that I started about 2 months ago and I haven't even started a log. Your ahead of the game already. Good luck to you.

 

Greg H.

[Elijah]

Thank you Greg! What ship are you building?

[Elijah]

Hello again! I guess it is time to consider my mini updates as just the standard update size. I have started my building board and hope to finish it this weekend. Here are a few photos. The construction procedure follows.

Marked the lines where hull templates are positioned.

Marked angle of splash.

I then cut out the keel holder. Next step was to cut an eighth of an inch thick notch into the holder. Did that and drill some holes into the baseboard and into the holder. I used some pegs to set the keel holder in place.

Now I wait. Until next time.

[dgbot]

Elijah, remember to place your model so that it's waterline is parallel with the board.  And to compensate for the drag.  Plus you are not in a race.  Take your time and enjoy your self as well.  Plus one of the best tools you will ever have is knowledge and how to utilize it.  

David B

[Landlubber Mike]

Elijah, thanks for looking in on my Morgan log.  I just read through your Phantom log and have to say I'm really excited for you - it's really great to see younger folks get into the hobby.  I did some plastic models with my dad when I was around your age, which I really enjoyed.  Like most people, I wish I had started ship modeling earlier.  You learn a lot through the hobby - about ships, construction techniques, and things like patience, persistence and drive to build the best model you can

 

You're off to a really fantastic start, and are taking a lot of important, critical steps now that will pay dividends down the road.  If I look back at my own modeling time, there are stages were I spend 75% of the time researching, reviewing plans and other prep work, and only 25% (if that) on the actual construction.  So, take your time, and ask lots of questions.  Most of all, just have fun!

 

Oh, and congratulations on your new baby brother!  That's wonderful news

[Elijah]

Thank you Mike! I really appreciate the compliments . You are off to a great start as well!

[robnbill]

Hey Elijah,

I wanted to look in on your log again to see your progress. You are doing great. As others have said, this isn't a race. A ship model is at least months and usually years to get done. These are long term projects that are part of your life for a long time.

 

What I do is to break everything down into small projects. A project has a beginning, middle, and end. When building, read ahead  and picture what you will need to do to accomplish it. This is your homework (to use a dirty word). While you spend some time reading ahead and making plans on how to accomplish a task (this would be the beginning of a task), you are working on building what you already planned and studied. For instance, I am currently working on chain plates, but planning on how I will be building masting. 

 

By breaking it down like this it allows me to have a sense of accomplishment when I complete a task. I don't focus on the end. I will get there one small task at a time.

 

You are doing fantastic work. Keep it up. Joining the NRG is like going to the candy store for a model ship builder.

[Elijah]

Those are some very wise words Bill! I had better get started on my homework ! In the morning that is, and maybe after I do some school homework .

[Overworked724]

Looking good!!!! You are following some sound advice. Slow and steady. Enjoy the trip...!!! Watching your progress with great respect.

[Elijah]

Thank you!

[Turatopgun]

Hi Elijah

 

You are doing really well on your boat. I have just started myself, on the Sir Winston Churchill but I am a lot older than you and I'm darned if I would have done as well as you at your age. Well done and keep going.  By the time you are my age you will be building masterpieces.

PhillB

[Elijah]

Thank you Phill !

[DonInAZ]

Hello Elijah!

My first attempt at building a wood ship model was also the Phantom many many years ago.  I got pretty far along on the hull and even finished coppering it.  There was no internet back then and so I didn't have access to the awesome group of modelers this forum offers and didn't even know what a practicum was.  As a result, I kind of went off script with it and eventually the model went back in the box and I went back to building plastic models and model rockets (both of which I still currently enjoy).  Wood ship modeling went back to being that intimidating modeling genre reserved for professionals and true artists.

 

Recently I discovered this site and it rekindled my desire to learn to build wood ship models.  I purchased another Phantom (I still have the old one as a reminder of that 1st attempt) as well as some small Midwest kits.  I will be re-attempting the Phantom as soon as I finish a couple of those smaller simpler kits.

 

Basically, the reason I'm sharing all this with you is to compliment you on your enthusiasm to learn, your attention to detail (far beyond what I possesed at your age) and your willingness to work slow and methodically as others have suggested.  You are off to a great start and you have an excellent attitude and approach to the hobby.  I look forward to following your progress on your Phantom and wish you all the best with your building efforts.  I'm quite sure you will be successful.

 

Don 

Phoenix, AZ

Edited February 2, 2016 by DonInAZ

[Elijah]

Thank you Don ! Good luck on your phantom!

[riverboat]

Hi Elijah....... just catching up on your progress....... you are off to a very good start...... you are in good hands here at MSW, if you ever get stuck on some part of your build , you have many friends here that will help you through.... the main thing is to have fun with your build.... Congrats on your new brother!!

 

Frank

[Turatopgun]

Hi Elijah,

Just popped in to see how your build is going, and it appears to be going very well. You really do have a good grasp on the process and respond to advice in a manner older than your years and reply with care and thoughtfulness. You appear to have considerable patience and I think this is probably a good thing in the building process.  As you know I have only recently started model ship building myself and it is the pleasure of research and building correctly that makes the task worthwhile.  Keep up the good work.

Phill

[Elijah]

Thank you Frank and Phill ! I couldn't ask for a better group of people to build ships with !

[Elijah]

I have gotten some template drawn and one finished. I used a Dremel to finish the shape, and a scroll saw to get the general shape. I will probably have to make more that two of each template because of mistakes, but there is plenty of wood, as well as time !

Until next time!

[Turatopgun]

Hi Elijah

 

You are going brilliantly with your build.  I must say that to take on the Phantom build as it could be considered a scratch build when one looks at the various task you have to complete to build it. Keep going.

Phill

[BobF]

Hi Elijah,

 

Met you at the NRMS meeting last night, and I was very impressed with you, and your accomplishments so far.  The Phantom kit makes a handsome model, and with your desire to learn and methodical approach, it's going to be a real beauty!   I look forward to seeing your future progress at club meetings, as well as on MSW.

 

BobF

[Elijah]

Thanks Bob ! I look forward to coming to another meeting, whenever that may be!

[Geoff Matson]

Hi  Elijha,

 

I too enjoyed meeting you and brother and Dad at the meeting last night. Looks like you are off to a great start on your Phantom. I look forward to following your progress. Go make some sawdust!.

[dgbot]

I am happy you found a great club Elijah.  The members are all great modelers and you will also find historians and machinists as well.  I miss the meetings and know you will have a good time.

David B. 

[Elijah]

Thanks guys for all the comments! As far as making saw dust, I'm not doing very much of that, it's more like paper fiber ! I got some really awesome stuff from the NRMSS club meeting, as well as some new ideas.

Yes, I did use Magne-Tiles as weights ! At the bottom is a set of plans for the Bluenose, the Model Shipways plans, in the upper right is a book on exploration, and in the upper left is a tool set. I didn't have to pay a cent! I am currently enjoying the new tool set while re-doing the paper hull templates. I didn't really like how the first turned out, and I have a couple pictures comparing my new and old templates. The less precise ones are the old ones. The old ones were also numbered with pen. So far, although they take a while to make, I like my new ones.

I am going to play my cello, and then I might do a few more.

Until next time!

Edited February 15, 2016 by Elijah

[dcicero]

Welcome to the club, Elijah!  It was nice meeting you on Saturday and I look forward to watching your progress on Phantom.  It looks like you've made a great start.

 

I was thinking back to my first wooden ship model.  It was USS Constitution from a kit by Scientific Models.  (It's going for $23.00 on Ebay.)

 

 

I think I was about your age.  Like you, I didn't have much space, certainly none that I could call my own.  The good news is you don't need much.  I worked on a card table in the basement.  You just need enough room to keep yourself organized and to allow glue and paint to dry.

 

And, like you, I didn't have much in the way of tools.  Again, the good news is you really don't need many:  sandpaper, x-acto knives, lots of clamps -- as you heard on Saturday, you can never have too many clamps! -- dividers, a straight edge, pencils ... really basic stuff that you probably have laying around the house.  For things you don't have, just ask.  The club is a great resource for help and the occasional tool.

 

A nice thing about building a Model Shipways kit is that they will replace materials, even if you mess them up yourself, at no charge.  That takes the risk out of trying things and learning building techniques.

 

Again, welcome to the club!  And good luck with your new model.

 

 

 

Dan

 

[Elijah]

Thanks Dan! Yes, Model Expo does leave room for experimenting! You just have to be careful with stuff not included in the kit. I am going to have to measure how much length of wood I need for planking and how much I have! Let's hope I have more than enough! I hope to see you soon!

[Elijah]

I took a break from cutting paper to find out how much wood I need for deck planking. I knew I had 480 inches of Castello Boxwood strips, but want d to know if I had enough to plank the deck. I took the general measurements of half the deck planking, giving a bit more length so that I wouldn't come short if I used the exact number. I came up with a total of 247 inches, about half of what I have. I could probably plank the deck twice with what I have, though I hope I don't have to. I think I will use the extra wood to make the roofs of deck houses and other. That way the wood matches. I will have to see if I like the deck and roofs matching. Tomorrow I have school, and I doubt I will be able to do much, but maybe I can make another couple paper hull profiles. I got the planking design from SalD's Phantom build log.

Until next time!

[captgino]

Exciting, looking forward to your next post!

[Landlubber Mike]

Really nice work so far Elijah.  The deck plan looks like a good one.  Just remember that with the curved planks, you ended up using more wood than if you just used plain strips.  With 1/4" planks, they might be wide enough to build in a curve, otherwise, it's a little harder to bend planks laterally with the decks, where the planking is essentially in a two-dimensional grid, than the hull, which is more three-dimensional.