Willie L Bennett by Jack12477 - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:32 Scale - skipjack

[Jack12477]

Thanks Mark, Carl, Russ.

 

Mark: No it's not operational. The entire thing is several Britannia  white metal castings I had to glue together - devil of a time doing that too - none of my clamps would work, kept twisting the pieces - finally resorted to weighting it down with a small (1"x1") steel machinist block - Used CA Medium 5-15 sec glue - glue worked fine once I could hold the parts together till the glue set.

 

Carl: I'm using the new <to me> Vallejo brand paints (oily steel for the winch) - sprayed it with a thin coat of Testors primer then applied the Vallejo paint with a brush - then hit it with Testors Dullcote to dull it down - I think I need another coat of Dullcote - still looks "shiny". I like the Vallejo paints but still getting used to using them - really miss the old Floquil paints tho, they were great.

[Jack12477]

Well, the resupply of my wood seems to be either lost in Opa Locka Fla in the USPS Origin Facility or it's coming up the Atlantic Coast in a dugout canoe . It was scheduled for delivery yesterday but seems to be lost. USPS is investigating so we will wait. Guess I can work on other deck structures or masts in the meantime

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Jack12477

[russ]

You do not have a Hobby Lobby or Michaels in the general area? I raid my local Hobby Lobby for basswood strips regularly.

 

Russ

[Jack12477]

Russ I have a Michaels about 5 miles from here but it's supply of basswood and balsa wood is pathetic - the nearest Hobby Lobby is an hour away (one-way).  I contacted ModelExpo and they sent me an email saying the replacement parts had been shipped May 9th with a USPS tracking number. Problem is the stuff never left the USPS "Origin" center in Florida - filed a complaint today with USPS - they promised a reply in 2 business days. So we'll see. Normally the USPS is pretty good about delivering stuff from ModelExpo and others, but this time something messed up.

Edited May 15, 2016 by Jack12477

[mtaylor]

I've run into that with their tracking system also, Jack.  Sometimes it shows "delivered" and due to distance, that's impossible.  Othertimes, the materials have shown up at my door and the tracking doesn't show "delivered" for a couple of days.   Very strange.   I wonder if they missed the truck north? 

[Jack12477]

   I wonder if they missed the truck north? 

 

More like the north-bound Pony Express Rider

[WackoWolf]

Do you have a Lowe's or Home Depot near you. They have bass wood also. Also Ace Harware is another, never bought any there but they also carry it.

Edited May 15, 2016 by WackoWolf

[cog]

Jack,

 

You seem to live in a just as hobyshop poor environment as I do ... some basic materials are available, but when you need the real deal, it takes either an age in travelling time, or you need to get it shipped, and shipments aren't JIT delivery!

 

I've used the vallejo on the sea witch, but the kind for the airbrush, which works nice. I've got their metallic range for airbrush too, and will be trying that out one of these days. First get familiarised with the new H&S airbrush.

 

Cheers

[Jack12477]

Joe, Lawrence thanks for stopping by and your comments. And all those who clicked the LIKE button.

 

Joe: I have both Lowes and Home Depot close by but have never seen hobby sized lumber of any type in either of them. No ACE Hardwares near me.

 

Another small update:  Wheel house and ship's wheel completed.

 

[Canute]

Wheel and deckhouse look good, Jack.

 

I understand your issues. We keep losing decent hobby shops around here, although I heard we are getting a HobbyLobby in July. Never been in one, yet.

[WackoWolf]

Jack,

 

   Next time you go ask someone, it's not easy to find without asking. I found it at Home Depot by luck, only because I was looking for something else LOL.

[Jack12477]

Thanks, Joe. Next time I visit Lowes/Home Depot I will ask someone. I'm in one of them all the time looking for something or other but never saw hobby size lumber.

[WackoWolf]

Ask them for basswood. They might not know what you mean if you say hobby wood LOL. Laughing but I do mean it.

[Jack12477]

No, I got what you meant - dealt with them many times.

[Jack12477]

Well, I checked out Lowes and Home Depot and neither of their local stores carry basswood. Re-checked Michaels yesterday and they have nothing smaller than 1/8 x 1/8 and that was out-of-stock.

 

The resupply from ModelExpo finally arrived. ME delivered the package to the US Postal Service (USPS) on May 9th, it was logged into the USPS tracking system on May 10th in Opa Locka Florida with a projected delivery date to me of May 13th.  When it hadn't arrived by the following Monday I filled a inquiry with the USPS - who could not find it anywhere - it was still in Opa Locka according to their records. Then it suddenly appeared at my door on May 19th after arriving that same morning at my local post office with no explanation for the delay.

 

The box:

 

 

The resupply contents - yes ONE stick of each size.

 

 

Boy was I surprised when I opened that box! Until I rechecked the parts list. I had read the parts lists as "part-number -  1/16 x 3/32 x 22 - -  29" as one bundle of 29 pieces when the part-number was really for 1 piece so I got one piece not one bundle of 29 pieces. 

 

I guess I can chock that up to "Jack's brain was on the train to Spain" when I contacted ModelExpo.

 

No problem. The build has been side-tracked by Spring/Summer yard work and assorted other life things. I did start building the pusher boat - will post updates as I get further along with that.

 

In the meantime we attended our youngest daughter's university commencement where she received her Doctorate in Education (EdD) degree; we now have two "Doctors" in the family, our oldest daughter has her Doctorate in Epidemiology (PhD) and next up will be our oldest grandchild's High School graduation.  So the shipyard will be somewhat quiet for a while.

 

Stay tuned !

[mtaylor]

It's probably better in some ways that you only got one stick.  Could you imagine if you said "29" and they shipped 29 bundles?      

 

Yeah.. summer is here and the yard is demanding attention.

 

There's a pusher boat?????

[Jack12477]

Yes, under the laws of Maryland the Chesapeake Bay oyster boats cannot use motor power to drag for oysters, so all Skipjacks are sail powered with a pusher boat to get them to and from the oyster beds. The law was changed in 1965 to allow power to be used two days a week. Today most of them do not dredge for oysters under sail but use the pusher boats when permitted to do so.

 

Something I never knew until I visited the area museums.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Jack12477

[mtaylor]

That probably makes sense as they could take a bigger haul using power.  Keeps the beds from being stripped completely.    Thanks for the info.

[Jack12477]

At one time there were 2,000 Skipjacks registered in Maryland on Chesapeake Bay; today according to the Maryland Dept of Natural Resources there are only 30 and only 7 of those actually fish. On push days, which are the two days a week that the skipjack can be pushed by the yawl boat, a skipjack can harvest 150 bushels. At $50 a bushel, that is $7,500 a day. With four people on crew, plus the cost of fuel, that could mean more than $1,000 a day per person. In contrast, the limit on dredge boats is 24 bushels a day, or 12 per man

 

Maryland's oyster harvest reached an all-time peak in 1884, at approximately 15 million bushels of oysters. The oyster harvest has since declined steadily, especially at the end of the 20th century The Skipjack was designated Maryland's state boat in 1985.

 

Here's an article on the subject

[Feathermerchant]

Jack, nice job. Building the same vessel. Just finished the deck and installing the hatch comings. Not been following MSW for a while, but will be following your build. Interested in how you do the dredge A-frame and winders.

 

Feathermerchant

[Jack12477]

Feathermerchant, welcome aboard !

 

The dredge A-frame is leaving me a bit intimidated at the moment, so I'm working on other parts while I figure that one out - also I think I flunked Soldering 101 - having trouble getting the little brass pieces to "sit still" while I attempt to solder them. Also the cluttered nature of the plans makes for slow going.

 

I did finish the small push boats - photos to follow shortly

[cog]

Jack,

 

 

I think I flunked Soldering 101 - having trouble getting the little brass pieces to "sit still" while I attempt to solder them

You might try a 3rd hand tool. For soldering they come in very handy ...

[Jack12477]

Carl, I have a third-hand tool - but I didn't use it because I thought it would act as a heat sink - these parts are teeny tiny. 

[Jack12477]

Time for a small update:

 

Finally got the small pusher boat completed. Ran into some problems keeping the side aligned even with the aid of the frame templates.  The instructions were really vague and frustrating on what size lumber to use - had to do a lot of "translating" from the plans and to find the right pieces. Mostly I eye-balled it and used what "looked correct".  Results are shown below in the photos.

 

[mtaylor]

Nice little addition to the fleet, Jack.   

[cog]

Jack,

 

Classy ... like the brass details on it!!!

[popeye the sailor]

neat looking little boat Jack.........it has a "New England" look    depending on the application,  I will sometimes use different size wood.  especially when the instructions call for wood that seems too bulky for the task.  hearing your dilemma concerning wood availability,  I feel lucky......but then again,  I like to keep an inventory of wood.   I still get my wood from Billing USA,  even though Ages of Sail had taken the business over......they kept the Billing's site open.  you should give them a try:

 

http://www.billingboatsusa.com/

 

http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/

 

I've never gotten a late delivery from them and they are pretty quick.

[Jack12477]

It's been a few weeks, but progress has been slow. Working on cutting the tiny 1/16" diameter x 3/32" long brass tubes for the cap rail posts. Had to dig around in the ole toy box till I found a suitable jig to use to cut repetitive lengths of pipe. 24 pieces cut so far,  about a dozen more to go. The jewelers saw was the only saw small enough to fit in the slot and tough enough to cut the brass tubing.

 

 

[cog]

Nice jig, Jack. No ice yachting, so you've got plenty of time to finish it ...

[SWOHammer]

Jack,

The jig looks like it saved a tremendous amount of time.  Does the tubing pass through a hole drilled in the end piece?  Where did you find the fitting you are using on the end of it to hold the tube (or what is it)?  Does the other, unsecured end try to pop up, or does your jeweler's saw hold it in place while you are cutting?

 

Cheers,

Rob