Thermopylae by popeye the sailor - Sergal - 1:124 scale

[cog]

Knowing you, Denis, it seems you will slide on a "dark side" with this build - very very soon ... ("I do not like this, I do not like that")

 

Mark delivered enough pop-corns, so, what are you waiting for ?

 

Maybe for you Nenad, but I feel he is a bit stingy. When Popeye hits the darkside, we need lots more!!!

[Mirabell61]

Nice kit Denis,

 

I see it is all under way already and wish much fun in setting up the framing and bulkheads....

 

Nils

[popeye the sailor]

my word!  such a response..........I don't know what to say?!?!?  looks like I'm going to have to try my best to make it interesting......doesn't appear to be too terrible a kit so far.  it will be a fun build.   the instructions will be my biggest hurdle,  I think........gathering translation to english,  and plotting where to go next.   I see a bad idea with the deck platform back at the stern section,  under the pop deck.   the deep cuts for the aft bulkheads are very delicate and can break off {I already cracked one with a rubber band}.   I suppose though,  that this would not be too big a deal.   the poop deck covers it and it most likely won't be seen at all.   the next logical step will be to get the frame fared and ready for planking.   thanks for all the kind words.......your interest in this build, and look'in in hitt'in the like button.  

 

OK Ed.......don't be a stranger  

 

my thought exactly Tom.   I will try it.......if I don't chicken out and get some 1 mm wood.  I do have a good supply of 1.5 x 5.......that could be another option as well.  your more than welcome to follow along  

 

now that's a bag 'o popcorn!     I guess a wheel broke on Sjor's cart!   too bad the deathstar was broken....coulda used it a little bit ago.  how long did you say it took to get parts from Zunev?   {that's Venus spelled backwards........but don't you tell anyone!}.

 

your not that far from this medium OC........your decks are wood     welcome to the log my friend!    I think it would be best,  if you and your fridge sat next to Mark......he's a good guy and is quite knowledgeable...he can help you with the lingo.... {won't you mark}.  

 

thanks Hof....toying with some ideas for the planking.   it appears that it is double planked....even though the instructions don't mention it anywhere.  if it does,  it's in Italian     I was on the Billing Boats Danmark site yesterday......they list the Cutty Sark again at 1:75.   they used to have a 'windjammer' Cutty Sark listed,  but they now list the Mayflower.  if it were me.......I would have opted for a larger kit........at a smaller scale,  some important points about this ship could very well get lost or downsized.  I see a few aspects already.....this is where the biggest changes would be made.

 

you have a great understanding of the situation Nenad       it's up to you.......heere!    this is the rope that I tied to one of my ankles........if I go too far down the rabbit hole......you give it a yank..........OK!!!!

 

Carl........you can play the devil's advocate........help Nenad with the rope          {this will add some suspense.........WHILE I'M SUSPENDED!}

 

thanks Nils........been a while since I played with a kit {and stuck to it to some degree  

[cog]

Well beter be suspended than in limbo ... Still you didn't contradict our suspicions ... black and magic ... maybe a few hundred Spartans would help ...

[Cuda1949]

Pulling up a seat and joining the build. Pass the pop corn please.

By the by I am building the Sergal President as my first planking and the directions are horrible but I am determined to finish the build.

 

Very nice work love to see how people make corrections to their errors as I probably will run into them myself at sometime.

A friend gave me a semi finished ship of the Pride of  Baltimore unfortunately it was broken and I borrowed the parts panels and will try to start over.

 

Al cold in southern Delaware 

Edited December 16, 2016 by Cuda1949

[popeye the sailor]

welcome to the log Al.   we're having minus degree temps today......been like this for a couple of days now.   last night was some brutal wind and snow squalls.   snow and rain in the forecast for the weekend........great...I gotta work in it  

 

   saving the parts panels started out as an experiment for me.   buy a kit,  save the panels for just the hull parts,  and for the rest of the build,  I do as  I want.   the Syborn was half of my first experiment...the M&M Fun Ship was the other half.  a second experiment,  the Holiday Harbor Fleet is going well....but I keep losing them to become fishing boats.  so far,  the first finished boat from that experiment,  turned out to be the Andrea Gail.   another one is in que to become {so far} an unnamed fishing boat.  it was the wrong hull to be basing holiday themed ships from.   I do have one other trio,  that was created from the initial flawed build,  sent to me from a friend.   three schooners........replicated frames,  stuck in the closet for the time being.  

 

I wrote this a while ago......got called away on an errand with the admiral.   good idea to save the panels    lucky that your friend did. 

[rwiederrich]

Popeye...I'm so glad you are doing a clipper...I'll be visiting this thread often for sure.

 

Gee I wish my admiral ordered me to build on my ships...what a burden you have to bare.....

 

Second..I always wondered why the keels and cutwater on some of these models are so heavy.  This model looks like nearly 1/4" thick or at least 3/16"

 

Fun stuff anyway.  Good to see you at work.

 

Rob

[popeye the sailor]

glad to have you following along Rob........the admiral love the wooden ships.   she has a fit whenever she sees me with a plastic kit now      don't tell her I told you,  but I think I caught a hint that another kit may be under the tree this Christmas     something about a ship she liked and she forwarded me a site to look at.  I quizzed her about it and she got all flustered.   I dunno........I won't cross my fingers......if I do,  it won't come true  

 

you must be referring to the thickness of the keel and bulkheads..........I know..........seems a bit too thick for this scale of kit.  I have the Billing's America parts panel........haven't had a chance to measure them,  but it's a smaller kit too.......I think the parts were 1/8th thick..

 

I need to look up small scale railings.....what they show for this kit is terrible  

[keelhauled]

Can't wait to see the rest of the show!!

[jct]

Hey Popeye,

Pulling up a chair as well

[trippwj]

Wow - missed the start on this one!  Looks like a nice fun build for you.  Now that I have found it, will stay for the show!

 

Hope you are doing well, Denis!

[popeye the sailor]

hello Marc,  J,  and Wayne........welcome to the build      not much is done right now......so your in time for the show.   probably won't get further along with the holidays  just around the corner.   faring and planking is the next step........still deciding which way to proceed.   glad to have you folks aboard!

 

have yourselves a very merry Christmas!

[Professor]

I'll be joining the audience for your build of what has always been my favorite of the majestic China tea clippers.

May the coming year bring you all good things. Happy modeling, mate.

Edited January 1, 2017 by Professor

[Lucius Molchany]

Yes this should be an interesting one.Always liked the Thermop!

[UpstateNY]

Hi Popeye,

 

Hope there is still a little room for me to watch the fun!

 

She looks like a lovely model, but wow....building a clipper at 1:124 would scare the life out of me. I can't wait to see what you have in store for her! 

 

Happy New Year!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[popeye the sailor]

welcome Professor,  Philo426,  and to you as well Nigel     it's still very early in the build as you can see.......as a mater of fact,  I have the fitting on the desk at the moment........I was going to separate them.   there are so many tiny metal parts,  that I'm thinking it best to do it according to their assembly.   you are right Nigel.......this model is very small.........I wish it was larger,  like the 1:96 Revell kit.   she's a beauty Philo426........and you added the studding sails, which really fills her out.   I have the Cutty......my second build of her.

    I began to fare the frame,  but I haven't gotten much further that that.   I was looking through my planking strips,  and I do have a good supply of 1 x 4 mm strip stock.   the kit supplies 0.5 x 2 mm strip stock......not sure how contorting the 4 mm planking is gonna go.   a second planking,  I feel,  might not be needed,  since I will be painting the outer hull.   still up in the air about coppering the bottom....if this was a larger kit,  it might not be as big a problem.   I see things that changes will benefit:

 

eye bolts:    I see an abundance of the larger brass colored eye {I forget the size}.    I can substitute copper colored smaller eye bolts wherever I can, to make them more scale-like.

blocks:    there is a package of what looks like 2 mm single blocks supplied in the kit.   from what I can see,  these are the only ones in the kit......how in the heck can you make decent vangs,  back stays,   and pulley assemblies,  with just single blocks.   I have some 3 mm doubles kicking around some where.......we can fix this  

railings:   I'm looking into getting some decent railings for this kit........bent wire just doesn't cut it.   Nils has been a great help with the places he gets his from,  but 1:124 scale is hard to find.......I may have to settle for the next size up.....like 1:200,  or 1:350.   I saw the photo etch for the Academy Titanic.... that might even do the trick.

Shrouds:   I know this is a small scale.......but the fore and main mast should have a wider shroud spread than shown.  I'll see what I can do with this.

Life boats:   where?   there are none in the kit.   something to look into........

studding sail booms:   don't recall seeing anything like them in the kit either..........again,  something to look into.........

 

a lot of this,  I have time to research.   I appreciate your look'in in and coming aboard.   just got the badger.........got to take Gibbs out {he's scratch'in the heck out of my leg}.   enjoy and hope you folks had a great holiday season!

[popeye the sailor]

I did manage to separate most of the fittings........too bad there isn't a parts list to compare it to.   I figured that I might want to scan the English instruction part,  so I wouldn't have to play with the big sheet every time I need to look up something {for what there is of it}.  with sheet #1 pinned to the wall,  I can't even look at sheet #2,  unless I take it down.   I did read though that all of the :  "blocks are all of the same dimension and one-hole."  quote.........unquote.  I don't care.....like I said,  I can fix that.   

     I did do a couple of things for right now........first,  I filled in the gap left by cutting out the broken bow bulkhead.   the gap is not needed,  since the center spine piece is supposed to slide in the slot.   I thought though that leaving it like it was would make the bow weak,  and apt to break off if I got too rough with it.   if I would have thought of it,  when I cut out the bulkhead,  I would have traced the part with the gap filled in.......all I would have had to do is shim it to the center spine and cemented it.    roughly 3.5 mm filled it in  

 

 

as I began to fare the frame.........oh,  here's a funny......in the instructions,  it says to fare only bulkheads #1,  #2,  #12,  #13, and  #14.   ehhhhh,  shouldn't you do them all?!?!?!   if for no other reason,  to get the char off'em.   told ya this would be a fun kit  

     anyway.......as I started,  I kept thinking that the deck platform should be in place.   I would have liked to plank the deck before this is done,  but they're instructing me,  that between the fore castle and the poop deck,  the bulwark posts need to be removed.   this will be the first kit that I've ever had to do that to.   the deck platform is the likes that I've never dealt with, it's made from some really rough thin plywood.   I've already cracked one of the appendages between the posts,  in the aft section.   it wouldn't have mattered if I broke it off.....it would not be seen after the poop deck is put on.   I heard another cracking sound,  as I cemented it in place.......I'll have to check it out after it dries.

 

 

this deck is hard to conform to the curvature,  tried my best to keep rubber bands and clamps from pushing down too hard on these appendages.   I wanted to take the sheet off the wall,  so I could see how some of the sub assemblies go together.....haven't taken it down yet.   pictured is part #21.........it needs to be beveled around the outer edge.   I did it,  but you might not be able to see it.   the poop deck must also be cemented in place,  in order to plank the stern transom and shape the counter.   the fore castle deck doesn't though.......the windlass is involved with it,  so best to do it later when the main deck is planked.

 

I mentioned somewhere on one of my logs that I had gone to Hobby Lobby,  to spend some of gift card money,  I had gotten for Christmas  {where I get my wood from as well}.   I got some more of those gears that I used on the Syborn and Andrea Gail builds.   I saw these other ones too.......a few of them would make great ship's wheels.

 

 

I saw those rings too.......thought about using the larger ones on the Flattie........but I'm thinking differently now.   the admiral showed me these.....my eyes lit up like a Christmas tree!   they look so cool!

 

 

these are made of wood.....as the name implies.   it'll be interesting to see what I'll be able to use them on.   then,  I got a spool of smaller size chain.   I can see if it can be used on the Syborn,  but as I recall.......I don't remember seeing the martingale......or the typical rigging that these clipper ships possess.  ya gotta have chain man.......not just rope {thread} rigging     I might have to go for an even smaller size....I can get it...not a problem.   

[Piet]

Hi Denis and happy 2017 to you and the family.  Finely got a chance to catch up on all the builds that are going on.  Great ship, the Thermopylae.  I still have a kit on the shelf waiting.  Mine is about 55 years old and a Revel plastic.  Looks like you are having fun with this one and hope there is spot for me.

 

Cheers,

[hof00]

Hi Chap,

Those extensions, (Bulwark), are you supposed to Plank/Form the Bulkheads before trimming the Extensions off?

(The Cutty was the same, I had to plank the Bulkheads before trimming off the extensions and plank the Deck after this.)

 

Just another thought, just maybe the manufacturer doesn't see the requirement to fair the Midships Bulkheads?

 

Just Dumb questions....

 

Cheers....HOF.

Edited January 3, 2017 by hof00

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the kind comments and to those look'in in.       part #21 is cemented in place now.......I beveled it a little,  but now I can do it the rest of the way.

      I can finish faring the frame now.

 

I envy you Piet..........if you want to do a wood deck for her,  the kit is a spin-off of the Revell Cutty Sark.   you can find wood decking here:

http://www.scaledecks.com/our-story.html

 

yes Hof.......you plank the hull,  and then trim off the bulkhead posts, before planking the main deck.   I read that the inner wall of the bulwarks has to be planked with walnut strips.   it is always best to fare all of the bulkheads.......should one of them be off,  it will show after the planking is done.   it also insures the smooth run of the planking,  as they follow the contour.  for any novice or first timer,  that would be a bad habit to be teaching them.  .....and a manufacturer telling them this to boot.........I'm not being overly critical,  but I just want to advise newcomers to the hobby,  to be through with this......it's important.   to not do this will result in a chunky looking hull......the bulkhead edging will show in a very undesirable way.  another reason for this,  is to match the deck platform to the bulkheads.   when the planking is run,  there won't be a nasty gap along the edge,  should the platform need to be painted, rather than planked.

    there is never a dumb question Hof..........just the ones that are never asked  

 

thanks Zoltan......a happy new years to you as well      now that you got your shipyard back together,  I hope to see more on your Santa Maria  

Edited January 3, 2017 by popeye the sailor

[jct]

Hey Denis...I'm sure your up to the challenge presented by this kit...Happy new year bro

[popeye the sailor]

thanks J.........almost done with the faring.    I should be planking soon.....I think the 1 mm planking will do just fine.   I've been using it to gauge the faring process.   I'm actually surprised that the admiral let me do it in the computer room!   I use a drywall sander....hand operated,  and going across the bulkheads creates quite a noise { I try and do three at a time,  moving from bow to stern}.  some of the squeaks and squawks were quite ear piercing.  the admiral did voice her opinion about the noise........which made me sing verses to the old song 'it's cold outside' , and my impersonation of Bella lagosi's famous line in the classic 'Dracula'....."what beautiful music they make....".    "no different than me play'in my bass dear",  was my next great line before I got the "well....Hurry up!"   "but dear.....you can't rush these things......it's like a fine wine"......or as Groucho would've said  "I'm making fine wine.....an' she's got sour grapes!"  the trick here is to keep talking......any psycho babble that comes to your head  

 

she'll tone you out........and the noise follows        as theories go,  don'tcha know  

 

in reality..........she's a good egg about my hobby.   she reads her books at her computer while I work on the boats.   I was going to move the Wharf into Kevin's old room,  but she was afraid that she'd never see me,  so here I stay.   it's nice to have her company too  

 

hope you had a great holiday as well  

Edited January 3, 2017 by popeye the sailor

[popeye the sailor]

well I think I have the faring just about done.   I was sharing it with another project.

 

 

 

might need a little more fine tuning here and there........especially around the stern  {part #21}.   I then realized that the poop deck wasn't cemented in place.   after cementing it in place,  I saw where the mizzen hole is.   this looks a bit odd to me.......

 

 

I'll have to check this out.       there is no direction to cap off the pop deck/main deck either.   I'm beginning to think some deviation is in order >the inner bashman is starting to emerge<

[Steve 12345]

Hello Popeye I have enjoyed viewing your post and will def follow along

[popeye the sailor]

hello Steve    welcome  and enjoy

 

I was doing a little browsing this morning........I thought I had more sites bookmarked,  but only had one.   it only showed pictures of portraits done on different clipper ships.  nice,  but doesn't answer too many questions.   most of the pictures I did find are in black 'n white of course.......but descriptions can help with color schemes,  so I'm not too worried about that.   the mizzen/galley this is probably the most puzzling aspect on this vessel.   in my later days as a modeler,  when I began building ship mostly,   I settled on the larger scale vessels.   Revell was first on my list,  since they had their 1:96 series.  the Constitution,  the Cutty Sark,  and the C.S.S. Alabama were the first three that I did.   then I got the U.S.S. United States,  and found it to be a spin-off of the Constitution......the only real difference,  was the added galley {w/badges} and poop deck {basically, the aft section is altered}.   the same can be seen as true for the Cutty Sark and Thermopylae.   that early in my ship building,   I didn't really think of it;  but later on,  I began to see that ships of any specific type,  do have subtle differences.   I can't remember if I had ever owned a Revell Thermopylae {who could forget something like that},  but everything I had seen of these two kits,  mirrored each other to the point where it was hard to dispute that these two kits were clones.  Kpnuts introduced his build of the Revell Thermopylae,  and turned my thoughts upside down.  the galley on his model was an elongated rectangular looking structure... ......the Galley on the Cutty Sark model is an elongated rectangular structure,  but the sides flare out towards the fore end of the ship....has a bit of a curvature too.  the second structure was omitted on the Thermopylae as well,  and in it's place is a canvased hold.   these were the only two features that differ between the Cutty Sark and the Thermopylae.   there is one glaring feature that indicates that the same molds were used on both vessels....the deck sections still have the same location holes for the second structure and the Cutty galley structure.   the 'pad' for the galley can be seen in the Thermopylae kit........Kpnuts build shows this.   I found a site for wooden decks.......even the wooden decks reflect the difference to the galley structure.

 

 

 

even the over view of the deck shows it

 

 

 

http://www.radekshipmodels.cz/en/seznam-modelu-plachetnic-en/modely-v-meritku-do-1_100/cutty-sark_-en

 

if anyone is looking for wooden decking for the Cutty Sark.......and a select others......have a look here.   the instruction sheets can also be found here,  for revell,  Airfix,  And A.L. versions of these two kits.   I also looked at images od the Thermopylae.......the closest and best ones I found,  were of an admiralty style model.

 

   

 

 

I'll be looking for more pictures.........in the meantime,  planking the hull is the next thing to do.

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Popeye, if you're still looking for pictures of models of the 'Thermopylae', have a look at the zoomable (is there such a word) images of Cyril Hume's wonderful 'Thermopylae' model on the Powerhouse Museum's web site.  The images can be enlarged to full screen as well as zooming, so you can get a pretty good look at them.  Cyril's model is noted world wide for its faithfulness to the original ship.

 

This is the link:

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=211834&search=thermopylae&images=&c=1&s=

 

John

[jre8655]

​Popeye,

 

​I wish I'd seen this build when you started it.  I purchased the Thermopylae kit quite some time ago and when I found that the instructions were in Italian I contacted the manufacturer and was sent an English version of the build sequence.

 

​I've attached them for you.

 

​Jack

 

Thermopylae Assembly Instructions.doc

[SkerryAmp]

Love it Popeye - the way you attack these ships is awesome.   Errant breaks, repairs etc always send me into bout of frustration - I think I need to figure out how to look at it like you - an opportunity!

 

Nice going so far, as always my friend - this  should be a good one 'specially once it has been popeyed! =)

[popeye the sailor]

pennies from heaven!   thanks gents!   exactly the problem I was having John....as I zoom in on anything,  the picture becomes grainy and blurry.   the admiral wondered what I was hoot'in about...........she just mentioned to me that I could download a program called 'hover  zoom'.   I will look at that as well.

thanks so much.......I bookmarked the site     sitt'in here hoot'in like a kid in a candy store!  

 

thank you as well Jack !    I wasn't overly concerned about the language barrier,  since I will probably use them simply as a visual reference.  I down loaded it.......is that both sheets?    no matter,  I'll find out soon enough   there are a few changes I may make as well,  so going rouge will lead me away from them here and there.   I hope you follow along.......shared knowledge about the kit can be a life saver,  as well as a time saver.   what did you do concerning the life boats?

 

happy to say that it is happening....the hull planking has started.   the 1 mm planking is working well.........but I did have an after thought.   I could have measured bow to stern,  and down to the deck line,  and made up a pair of 1/16 panels for the bulwarks.   Billing boats kits are based this way.   I know they sometimes can be a pain to install,  but it would really sturdy-up the bulwarks,  since they want me to cut out all the posts.   I did not cement the planking to these posts,  so eliminating them won't leave me with a huge mess to clean......just sand the roots flush to the platform before I plank the deck.     easy-peasy!     I shot four pictures before the camera died........I need to charger it up.

 

 

1 plank strip equals two of the supplied planking strips for this model.   I will have enough to sand,  without fear of burning through......and perhaps I can get away with doing a single plank on her as well.

 

 

 

more on her progress today.....that's what I'm shoot'in for  

[cog]

Well, as long as it won't turn in shootin' at, we don't mind. Nice bit a progress, but that is to be expected with double width sized planks

Edited January 5, 2017 by cog