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

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the kind comments and all the likes.   yea,  it's good to be back at the table...........errrrr,  my desk     I cleaned it off before the big calamity.......you wouldn't know it now.   I've done a bit more........hope to have an update soon.   stay tuned!  

 

thanks John........rather be modeling.....I don't get as greasy       I should go back to working on cars......I miss it sometimes.

 

I'm not sure Michael.........if I was a doughnut maker,  I'd most likely get sick of the whole thing     ya caught me........I'm a closet chef!   haven't figured out how to bake a ship yet though.....I'm working on it  

 

yea Gary........I know......realized that after I started the log.   I'm in the process of finding out how to change it......if anyone knows,  please let me know  

[Jack12477]

Denis, go to your first post, select it, then click EDIT, this  will put you into full editor and allow you to edit the title. 

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Jack........that never occurred to me.   I'm on it!  

[popeye the sailor]

OK.......I altered the title.  thanks for reminding me Gary     ......and thanks again Jack.   I tried to figure it out earlier.......I had read about the process in other posts,  but that was a while ago.   I guess I'd better update the thought process instead  

 

but hey........while I'm here,  I may as well show you the recent update for the log.   now that the fore deck is done,  the windlass and pump can be added.   I went through the wood,  and found nothing that resembled the sizes I needed........even for the cap rails.   I bagged all the wood up........I'll use what I have in my inventory.....I'll category it later.  finding suitable square stock that will fit in the slot for the pump body,  and finding strip stock that will work in conjunction with the windlass,  I found that the two would not fit together.  the windlass has a center separating the two drums,  and the width of the pump body would not go between them.   so I cut slots in both sides of the pump body,  so they would join together,  as they both share this opening,  in the center of the fore deck platform.

    the pump body was cemented in place first......

It's painted in earth brown,  as is the side posts for the windlass.   the slots I made are visible here.   you can also see the center spacing I'm talking about with the windlass.

at first,  I thought I should have made the slots deeper in the pump body,  but closer inspection showed that this wouldn't have mattered.......they are deep enough.   

the hole was pre drilled for the pump handle.   the instructions were no help in trying to make the handle.   they show small pieces of dowel for the grips.....but I have something smaller than the dowel provided in the kit.   I couldn't find it,  so I used a tooth pick,  sanding it down even smaller after I had drilled the holes for the shaft.   there was breakage,  which meant multiple tries,  but I managed to come up with a pair.   it wasn't till after it was assembled,  that I found the dowel that I was looking for  {go figure}.

...it was added to complete the pump.

next,  I thought to create the bollards and the heads.   already,  I saw a problem with the heads........with the size of the wood blanks,  they will be out of scale.   I'll show you in a moment......the parts were gather together.....

the roof curvature needs to be shaped into the heads........during the process,  the capstan {or sampson post} and the fore hold cover was cemented in place.

when I assembled the bollards,  I had the impression that they were too far apart.   I took a look at the Cyril Hume model,  and his were pretty much the same spacing.   So,  I'll go with these, after sanding the bottoms and painting them.

I have the metal etch doors that go on the heads........I had allowed about 2 mm on the blanks for the threshold and the roof line.   I sanded them down more after this picture was taken.  I could go further,  but going too far will prevent me from using the metal etch doors.   the size of them looks wrong too,  as well as their position in the instruction diagrams.  even with the wood doors provided on the thin panels are too large

I saw something else strange about the Cyril Hume model........looking at the braces,  you see the pendents and block assemblies that make up the braces,  but there are no ropes from them, terminating to the deck.  the model,  in my opinion,  doesn't have a complete rigging diagram.   there are not too many belaying points along the deck.   I need to change the pins as well......I'll show you those in my next update.   I have other uses for them darling...............

[Sjors]

Hi Denis,,

i still follow you even when you are writing whole books !😅

 

Sjors

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Sjors...you fun lov'in ball'o fur you!     you ought to read the log I have going on Weebly.

 

thanks Lawrence.......the coppering,  it's too bad this model is small,  or I would do it.   I thought about how small the tiles would be,  and thought better of it.   speaking of the crew's toilets,  I have one of them finished.   as I suspected......they will be out of scale {what else is new with this model}.   it wouldn't matter which etch I used.....metal or wood,  the outcome would be the same.   the placement is varied as well.   the instructions say to put them here:

....while the Cyril Hume model shows them here.  apparently there are no ladders at the fore deck.

either way,  I will need to remove part of that inner rail........the pin rail that was installed when I did the inner bulwark planking.   I also ordered belaying pins for this model......I ordered some 5 mm pins.   I'm not sure what size these are,  but I think they will dress up the poop railing and fife railings just fine  

this is all of them........not too many termination points.   I ordered 40 belaying pins.......that should handle the extra I plan to add.    thanks for the kind comments and the likes.......I hope to have more tomorrow  

[Jim Lad]

Popeye, as it's a half forecastle, there wouldn't have been ladders to it.  It was usual to have the crew toilets up as close to the forecastle as possible.

 

John

[Piet]

Caught up with you Denis.  Nice paint job, nice cake, nice progress. Love that ship, so elegant.

And negative on the change in my log-in handle.  When I first became a member many, many years ago with MSW 1.0 I picked dadodude because that's what my then very young grandson called me. It carried over to MSW 2.0 but somehow it changed to Piet. Now with the upgrade it's ba k again to dadodude. All my signature stuff got diskabluberated as well.  I still need to fix it 

 

Cheers,    

[BANYAN]

Some great progress there Denis; she is looking mighty fine already.

 

WRT to those 5mm pins, they looks a bit fat in the handle; will you be reducing them?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the kind comments and the likes.  I'm in the process of finishing the other crew toilet,  the cap rails {the chain plates are combined with them},  and completing the pin rails.  anything else will be a plus.  the cap rail alone will be quite a task in itself.......not sure I like how they want me to do it.  we'll see what happens.

 

thanks John.......that's where they're going.   since the instructions have been wrong so many times,  why follow them.   they give the size of the wood used,  but no lengths or increments......go figure.

     I'll use Cyril's model as my guide     

thanks Piet.......glad to see your following along.  I may need a tip or two in regards to metal     it's been so long.......guess I forgot you used to go by that name.   the way the site works has changed,  but the profile is basically the same......I've already made a small change myself.  the flying Dutchman was also the name of a train,  if I'm not mistaken  

 

thanks Pat........I'm not using the belaying pins I've shown above.   they are wood and do not resemble belaying pins,  as I view them.   the ones I ordered will be a lot more slender,  and hopefully smaller.  I will use these pins for railing tops........I think they'd be perfect for decorations of that nature.  sorry if I confused you......I didn't mention that these were the ones that came with the kit.

      the ones I'm getting will be brass.........a bit more bling  

[popeye the sailor]

....another development in the "I can't believe this is a kit" dept.  I'm in the process of doing something I didn't mention.......one of the plus things I was talking about.  the kit comes with the metal strops for the dead eyes.......they supplied 5 mm,  judging by eye.  I decided to set up the dead eyes for the bottom set of shrouds.   I know it's early,  but if I do the chain plates,  I should have these ready as well.   they don't fit the dead eyes.......too small!   they might be good for 3.5 mm dead eyes,   but not for the 5 mm!   luckily,  I have the Amati strops that I got for the Half Moon......I'll try  and use them.   here is a picture of the problem.

smaller than the amati strops,  they don't even make it around the dead eye.   I just tried one of the Amati strops.......worked fine!   all I need do now,  is set them up to work with the supplied anchors.

 

I'm going back into the hall of insanity now..........should have an update soon  

[popeye the sailor]

well........I didn't get all of my to do list done,  but what I got done instead was just as good.  I started back at it,  by getting the other lavatory ship shape and ready to go.

the roof is short strips of mahogany,  trimmed by a little tool I am never without.........my nail clippers  

this is my convex clipper......I have a concave one as well.  I also use the smaller ones as well.   they do a great job with the thin stuff....just like a pair of nippers.  they do work well on smaller diameter brass wire,  but I do have to be careful.......some kit manufacturers supply the brass plated stuff  {light steel}.   the belaying pin trays were cut and shaped......later cemented in place on the pin rail strip.

These were later stained with the light walnut,  to bring them in hue with the rest of the decking,  and sealed.   I probably should have drilled the holes,  but I still need to figure out how many to do.  the kit only shows four per tray.  the size of the drill is another consideration.   next was to assemble the ship's wheel.....the little cabin box needed to be shaped,  legs put on the front,  and of course,  the ship's wheel.

this is the kit design......not Cyril Hume's........I looked at the pictures again later and said........oh crap!   it's made now.......might as well use it.   the lavatories are both done.......dry fit in place to see how they look.

I want to get the cap rails going before I cement them in place.   ......and then........something I was dreading to do........drill holes in the hull itself.   there are holes that need to be drilled in the bulwark and three additional holes along the bow,  under the rub rail.   I made up a drill template for them.......nothing fancy,  just three holes drilled in a piece of planking in a straight line and evenly spaced {I marked them out on the planking}.

oh dear........now look what I've done.   this is not good,  you know!   I showed it to the admiral to scare her.   I got some continuation pictures in the camera still.   I'll go get'em and show you this process.    stay tuned!

[popeye the sailor]

darn.......I didn't take shots of the starboard side.   all I got is the one aft near the poop deck......all touched up.   a bollard will be located near this hole.....hence,  the reason why it's there.

the kit comes supplied with small brass rings it cement around the holes.

then they get touched up with the med green.  not sure if the three under the rub rail are portholes.......if they are,  I can fill them with the window maker.   if anyone can tell me,  I'd appreciate it.

I also got the dead eye problem squared away........as mentioned,  to move on to the next part of the assembly.   I'll have to check other info,  but the instructions show four dead eye assemblies per shroud......from fore to mizzen.   I may add one or two extra to the fore and main shrouds......looks like too many back stays.   still think'in 'bout this.

the rudder's painted and ready for the gungeons.......and I have the first two sections of the cap rails,  cut and bending as we speak {they are likely dry by now}.   again,  I will have to get creative with the transom.   once the cap rail are done,  I can add everything to the deck..........that will be a really big day     thanks for look'in in!

[BANYAN]

Master of the understatement you are Denis   Only a little done -  I would like to see what you could achieve on a good day's work then

 

She's coming together nicely; great work

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Jim Lad]

You're really cooking with gas now, Popeye!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Pat and John......I believe there are a few more holes to drill.  one of got a little messy,  but it was an easy fix and clean up.   there are gun port lids to go on her as well.....when I situate the chain plates,  I can space them out at the same time.   the big thing now is to get the cap rails on,  and get everything that goes with it assembled.   thanks for the kind comments and thanks for the likes from all who hit the button  

 

one thing I forgot to mention when I did the update.......I got lucky.   I was looking for those decorative tooth picks......out of every store I looked in,  only one had 'em.   it didn't take long to get a section of railing together.

the sad part is.......I think they are too big and out of scale.  this is the shortest height I can get them at.......7 mm.   these would be great for larger models,  but not for this one,  I'm afraid.   I didn't bother putting on the decorative part I wanted to try.......don't want to waste them.

I found the smaller dowel........I will try making one using it......may come out better. 

[Jack12477]

Denis, nice railing !  I see you found my favorite toothpick - Target I presume !?!?  - use them for spreading glue  - Hadn't thought of using them as railings. Thanks for the idea.

[popeye the sailor]

not a problem Jack........and the best part,  you can still use what's left to spread the glue     we have two large grocery chains up here....Market Basket and Hanaford's.   you would think that both of them would carry them,  but only Market Basket does.    didn't think that department stores would carry them.......right back at you with the tip thanks    

[Jack12477]

We have Hannaford here also, but they don't carry that particular style toothpick, only found them in grocery section of Target. Don't have Marketbasket here.

[popeye the sailor]

wasn't aware that Target had super stores.......Wal-Mart does    Market Basket is a Mass based chain......not too sure how far they stretch out.  I'm sure it's not a new idea.....someone may have done this in the past.......I've used them in earlier models.   too bad this one is a smaller scale....would have looked cool.   the admiral wanted to see it.......she was curious,  seeing it was so urgent that I find them.   a few mins ago,  she asked me,  what made me think of using them.  she should know me by now  

 

thanks Zoltan.......yes,  they are wood.  might look good on your model.......it's a good scale  

 

sad to see that 'current build' sig empty like that Jack........hope it's not for too long  

[popeye the sailor]

here's a little bit more progress on the 'ole girl.   along with starting on the cap rails,  the cat heads need to be made and installed.   the main body of the cat head is a little less than an inch long,  so it's darn small to work with.   each one needs a whisker and I want to add banding to it,  to help hold the whisker in place.   the starboard side bow section of the cap rail was fitted and painted with earth brown.......the entire cap rail will be this color.

slots need to be cut into the fore deck bulwarks,  to allow for the cat heads.   they are a bit larger than the slot,  so I had to slot the cat head,  to allow the cap rail to ride over it.

while I was at it,  I made a couple tracings of the transom on a piece of 1/8 flat stock.   good to have a second......even in a duel   after all......what is dual........two!    clever lad!  not wanting to mince words {cut to ribbons},  I used the half round piece of mahogany to trace the inner cut.

I do have one of the cat heads assembled...touch up is all that's needed.  I'd put the dime up next to it,  but I think I spent it on my son's car.

well......I must say......this has been a fun filled week.  my thanks to mother nature,  who kept it nice 'n wet outside for most of the week.  

[md1400cs]

Dennis,

Just catching up to your great build - nice indeed.

 

 

[src]

Dennis,

Too bad about the scale with the toothpick, that would have looked great. I have the same toothpicks here and always liked the ends but never found a project for them.

Wow, Market Basket! We had one here in Los Angeles many many years ago I dont know if it was part of the same chain or an independent. being on opposite coasts I would assume independent.

Sam

[kpnuts]

Superb work my friend.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the kind word and the likes all......get through my bout with work,  and I'll be back at it    I did do a little bit more after the update........that cute little cat head I made,  well I have to make another.   after putting it together,  I went to drill the holes for the anchor rigging,  and I messed it up.  at least I have something to look forward to

 

thanks again for your interest........welcome to the log KP!   hope you follow along  

[Omega1234]

Hi Denis

 

I'm just catching up with your log!  My, oh my, what a heap of progress you've made on her.  

 

I wish I had your speed and adeptness in getting things done.  Somehow, you juggle everything together (including birthday cake baking) and never seem to miss a beat.

 

What's your secret????

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[popeye the sailor]

I don't know about that Patrick .........I wanted to keep the progress going with the trawler,  but it seems I got sucked into the Thermopylae.   I just recently got the port side net on her...that was supposed to be done a couple of weeks ago.   but,  it's on there now,  and that's what counts.........but the allure of the Thermopylae is still strong.   I'm determined to get the cap rail on  

      the getting things done is simple.........you run into a problem..........some folks take other routes,  but I prefer to use what I have available,  and scratch build what I need.   to be able to figure out a remedy quickly and  'just do it' {without hesitation},  has benefited me greatly.   I find over thinking a problem,  doesn't do me any favors.    the other thing is my ability to bounce from one project to another...although lately,  I've been poor at doing it.

 

thanks for the good word Patrick.   I don't know what happened........I clicked on a spelling correction,  and I ended up at your Pandora build     very interesting build there,  my friend  

[Jim Lad]

Very nice work, mate!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

thanks John.........I appreciate your input     the other cat head may fair better when I drill the holes......the one I messed up on,  I think I had the banding too close.   not enough room to successfully drill the holes......the drill walked into the original hole and chunked it out      all is not lost....or sad......I'll just make another one.  it the name of the game

 

I got my order over the weekend!  man,  are the belaying pins tiny!   but they fit the scale nicely.   I got forty of them........instead of a dime,  I got one of the belaying pins,  you would normally see in a kit,  to show how small they are.

I also got a package of the metal reel blocks for my fishing vessels.......the Boulogne Etaples will not go without     I do have to assemble them though.

 so I won't have to use those wooden ones that came in the kit...as mentioned,  I can put them to good use    I got them from Ages of Sails.

[Omega1234]

On 10/04/2017 at 8:30 AM, popeye the sailor said:

I don't know about that Patrick .........I wanted to keep the progress going with the trawler,  but it seems I got sucked into the Thermopylae.   I just recently got the port side net on her...that was supposed to be done a couple of weeks ago.   but,  it's on there now,  and that's what counts.........but the allure of the Thermopylae is still strong.   I'm determined to get the cap rail on  

      the getting things done is simple.........you run into a problem..........some folks take other routes,  but I prefer to use what I have available,  and scratch build what I need.   to be able to figure out a remedy quickly and  'just do it' {without hesitation},  has benefited me greatly.   I find over thinking a problem,  doesn't do me any favors.    the other thing is my ability to bounce from one project to another...although lately,  I've been poor at doing it.

 

thanks for the good word Patrick.   I don't know what happened........I clicked on a spelling correction,  and I ended up at your Pandora build     very interesting build there,  my friend  

Hi Denis

 

Thanks, but I think you underestimate your ability to get things done at lightning fast speed!  I'm still in awe and slightly envious😊  

 

Thanks also for for visiting my Pandora log.  All of those photos of Pandora were taken before I had a good digital camera....looking back at them now, it's surprising how fuzzy and dim the colours of those photos were...they certainly didn't do the model justice.

 

Aanyhow, have a good one!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick