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

[Piet]

Just checking in Denis on your progress. Looking great, especially those tiny belaying pins.

 

Cheers,

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Piet........ain't they the bomb!    I gotta order some more....I don't think I'll have enough.   I check on replacing the anchors........best I've found is 20 mm.   the supplied anchors are a tad over 30 mm.  I started to compile the list of replacement parts.......I'll post it when I feel it's complete.   the fife rails are painted now,  along with the aft pair of overhead racks.   there is a triple set of overhead racks toward the bow.......I'll do them in a bit.   I gearing up for the stern railing......making a few for practice.   my cutters put quite a point on the wires.......poked myself in the finger a little while ago.

    I just dabbed it with CA and kept going....the admiral told me I was nutz.   I will neither confirm or deny     it's late my friends.......guess I'd better go rest what brain cells I have left.  the admiral already has her Briggs and Straton going..........and she says I sound like a Mac truck!  

[Rat-Fink-A-Booboo]

hi Popeye

I Love this build - fascinating

[popeye the sailor]

thank you very much.....I'm glad your liking the log.   it'll get even more interesting when I get into the masting......the instructions have strange ways of attaching the yards.   with a small scale like this,  it might be tough,  but I'll try to add as much as I can.   I think this thin wire I'm using for the railings might serve well for the foot ropes......just a thought  

[popeye the sailor]

I think I've gone stark railing mad!!!!!!   I think I've practiced enough......time to make the ones I really need.     the fife rails and overhead racks have been painted.......now they dry.

these railings came out the best I've done yet.......

too bad they are the wrong length........can't cut 'em down either.   I made another pair.   I'l making them the same way I did the others........sandwich them to create a ladder,  and then cut it in half,  making two identical railings.   I'm sure I can use them somewhere.    as you may recall......I had cut out two of the transom cap rails........the one I didn't use ended up in the box.   I will use it to make the railings.   sanding it down in width,  the holes were drilled in it........trying hard to keep it from breaking,  and the stanchion spacing even.

more wires were cut.......I had used my reserve up.   they were then cemented around the base.......I didn't make a pair like the others.

using the jig I made,  they were all trimmed to length.

the thin wire was strung onto the stanchions........those tweezers work great!   they straighten the wire really good.   

once the Ca dried,  all three railings were painted.   

now I need to make a pair of ladders........these are going to be small  

[EJ_L]

Practice made perfect! Denis, very well done on those railings. They will make an excellent addition to the ship.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks EJ....and all who hit the like button.  

[popeye the sailor]

with the finish of the stern railing,   I figure I have enough finished fittings to add them to the ship.   for the poop railing,  I added a thin strip of mahogany on the top and gave it a coat of flat lacquer.  I would have done this to the stern railing,  but bending it in the way I'd have to,  would be a fool's errand.   

in adding this.....I need the ladders now.   I made a pair......they're not perfect,  but they do the job.

the stern railing was added next......these pictures don't do it justice.   I took several,  and these two were the best.

I dry fitted the fife rails and think they are a little too tall.   I'm thinking of shortening the legs,  but it might be harder when it come to rigging.   chance I'll have to take I guess.

[rafine]

Those railings look great Denis. BTW, you mentioned using wire for the foot ropes on the yards. I do it all the time and it works really well.

 

Bob

[BANYAN]

Haven't had the chance to look in much Denis as I am travelling - like what I see mate, some great progress there.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Sjors]

Just a piece of art!

 

Sjors

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for your kind comments Bob,  Pat,  and Sjors     ......and thanks to those who hit the like button.   I went a little further after I had posted the update,  adding the aft overhead rack,  the bilge pumps and winch.  

once I get through  my work week,  I should be able to make more progress. thanks for look'in in  

[Piet]

Hey Denis, those railings look really spiffy, great progress my friend.

 

Cheers,

[popeye the sailor]

hello Piet........I was just visiting the new 019 log you just put up     you can count me in as a watcher     thanks for the good word!

[Jim Lad]

Boy, she's really come along while I've been away!  Great work, mate.

 

John

[lambsbk]

The furniture is really filling the deck out. Looks great Denis.

 

Dave

[popeye the sailor]

thank you John and Dave     the work week is over.......hopefully I can finish filling out the deck.   more to come     thanks to all who hit the like button.

[Piet]

Thanks Denis, I read your post. but that boat is the Hr. Ms. O16 not the O19. Blame it on dyslexia of the fingers mate 

 

Cheers,

[keelhauled]

I wish that  I could work as fast as you operate!  I see that you have work completed on the masts already!  I'm enjoying the build!

Marc

[popeye the sailor]

OK Piet........that makes all the difference!       I didn't think you do a miniature of a sub you did so well     still don't see her in you sig.

 

thanks Zoltan......the project is going much better,  now that I have some control over the scale.  thanks for the good word   

 

the one thing I like about the new changes,  is that when you make a post,  and forget to hit submit......you don't lose it   I'd kick myself,  if I wouldn't end up throwing my leg out of joint!  I didn't do much with her today.......planking the deck on the Boulogne.   taking care of that dog's body of a deck.......once and for all!     I have three projects on the tables at the moment.

 

hey Marc!  building the Cutty twice helped out with the masts......I do have to add the metal fittings and stuff though.   the kit isn't too bad....now that I have a firm direction as to the method of assembly.   the rest of the build will be scratch built,  along with a few more alterations I'm going to make.   I found another set of ship's boats.......these are clinkered.   I'll order them the same time I get the additional belaying pins.   the anchors,  I will get from Cornwall {amati}.   I'm glad your enjoying the build    thank you!

[lb0190]

Hi Popeye, nice build you have going. I think I'll pull up a seat. Many if not all of the builds I was following have been completed since I took some MSW time off (I still need to check them out). As usual, I see excellent craftsmanship and artistic excellence!

[popeye the sailor]

hello Larry.......welcome to the log.   if that's the case,  you'll need to build  whole new list.   I have an extensive list of watched logs myself.....with all the new talent coming to the table here,  it's impossible not to increase the 'watchload'      yours is no exception........beautiful!   thanks for the good word.....hope to have more on her soon.

[edmay]

Hello Denis ,I concur with Sjors ,"A piece of art is being built in your dry dock"a modeler of many talents well done , I mentioned a second job to the admiral for a boat fund ," forget it you have enough"kind regards to you both ,really nice work ,Edwin.

[popeye the sailor]

well........what the heck have you on the build table now?  if it's 'zero'......that the question you need to pose to the admiral     mine would just tell me...."silly boy.....go scratch one!"  but even with all my projects,  and what I have in the closet......she still got me one for X-mas.   it's the 'Norden' by Billings...an advanced beginner's kit,  to be sure,  but I think I can make it a full blown project  

 

give my regards to urmilla,  and to you as well  

[BANYAN]

Some very nice progress there Denis.  I have (still am for a few days) on holidays and not checking in too often   She is looking grand!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[rwiederrich]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 5:21 PM, popeye the sailor said:

well........what the heck have you on the build table now?  if it's 'zero'......that the question you need to pose to the admiral     mine would just tell me...."silly boy.....go scratch one!"  but even with all my projects,  and what I have in the closet......she still got me one for X-mas.   it's the 'Norden' by Billings...an advanced beginner's kit,  to be sure,  but I think I can make it a full blown project  

 

give my regards to urmilla,  and to you as well  

You are doing a great job Popeye....very nice.  My wife would never buy me a model...she is fully aware I may be disappointed...since I have built all the clippers that are available and she is also aware of my discerning eye...so it would be futile for her.  I am pleased that she allows me my shops and model making room. And in that she doesn't interfere.  It's not that I wouldn't be appreciative...she knows it's easiest to let me get what I want and need.

 

Any new shots.. how's the rigging coming along?

 

Rob

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the good word Pat........your supposed to be enjoying your holidays,  but glad your poking in to see    have fun!

 

thanks for the good word Rob.....I'm still a ways away from rigging yet.   I've ordered more belaying pins and 3 mm double blocks.....and I've ordered another type of ship's boats.   I hope they are more correct.  if not,  I will go with what I had previously planned.   just the idea that I want to include them is good enough for me     the anchor issue is settled......I'm going to try and scratch build a pair.   I looked at Chuck's tutorial for making them,  and I'm sure that I can make a convincing pair.  I was also looking at the yards.......plastic models are so deceiving......I was under the impression that some are movable and some are fixed in place.  I'm finding different bits of information.   another aspect I wanted to add was a couple of cannons.....I saw what Nenad did,  and they look cool.

    that idea may come to fruition.....all because of me and my silly tangents.  this week,  I really didn't feel like mess'in with them.   the trawler is still on the table,  waiting for me to continue with the roof of the helm room.......the boulogne is still on the table,  waiting for me to flesh out the cap rails and repair the bottom hull by the stern.......and I made the fore stanchion racks for the Thermopylae,  but need ti fit them.   I need to drill all the holes for the belaying pins,  but I want to wait till I get the order in first.    then there's the ship's boats and the davits.  Tuesday was a complete bust....didn't do anything.......Wednesday,  I was going stir crazy.....so I mowed the lawns.   later in the day,  I couldn't take it anymore,  so I brought out one of the plastic models to play with, in the hopes it would joggle something loose in the idea department.   I figured to play with the Jolly Rogers........since the kit has so many problems,  I thought I'd just throw it together with little paint.   now the Thermopylae is 1:124 scale.......the Jolly Rogers is 1:130.......one look at the cannons,  and that wonderful light came on!   I closed off the bridle ports to the J.R. and set a couple of cannons aside for the Thermopylae!   the scale is not too far off.......no go with the anchors though,  the smaller anchors are about 26 mm {still too large for my taste}.  as for not painting the Jolly Rogers.....come on,  who are we talking about here?!?!?!  oh yea......there is paint.......the hull is a wood brown right now.   I'm going to try and overlay it with a diluted wash of flat black,  to perhaps get a wood finish .

 

for all the craziness of all this, I may post a log.....but it might depend on how the wash job goes.  I appreciate all your interests in this project {everyone}.   when I get the parts and weigh out the options........I hope to have an update soon    stay tuned!  

[popeye the sailor]

we all wish our admirals shared in our madness.......mine lies in the middle.   she very supportive and will help me reason out problems when I become vocal about them.   she's not a fan of plastic,  especially when she saw how the wood kits look.   she won't make sails........the envy of all around me, whose admirals will    for those,  whose admirals are willing to pick up an x actor and join in on the fun,  you have my utmost respect!  

[keelhauled]

My admiral thought that she might like to make a model and work beside me while I worked on mine.  I bought a small solid hull viking ship that she picked out.  We chose a very simple kit.   It lasted a day.  She became frustrated cutting the laser cut pieces out with the xacto knife.  But, she tried.

 

 She also does not sew my sails.  I had to go out buy a sewing machine and have my mother-in-law show me how to operate it.  Then the admiral come to me with sewing jobs that she wanted completed!!

[popeye the sailor]

sounds like something good that went terribly wrong......my admiral wouldn't dream of me doing anything    I may be able to do my own sails......but I'm at first base with everything else.   I recall when I was a lot younger......before I ever got married........I had a pair of star spangled striped bell bottoms.   I wanted more of a 'bell',  so I sewed in pieces of blue denim to make them bigger.  

     cripes.......I looked like Bozzo the clown!.......if you can remember him    anyway.......mine wouldn't dream of trying,  so you have a 1-up there  

 

I got my order.......ages of sails is great!   I got the belaying pins.......and the double blocks......but the ship's boats.......well,  they'd look better on a sailing ship    so,  I will make do with what I have........at least I'm adding them in