The Tumblin' Dice by popeye the sailor - Artesania Latina - 1:80 - Mississippi riverboat

[popeye the sailor]

   thanks Carl!  I did a bit more.

 

I started to make some of the other parts for the lower deck.   if I get enough filled out,  I will be able to add the second level.   first were the hooks for the coral gates.

I made a bunch of them......stain the finished ones with mahogany,  and glue 'em in place.   I cut the coral gate bars as well and stained them too.......sprayed them with gloss lacquer.   where the smoke stacks are to originate from,  are the two large holes in the second level deck.   there are two pieces that will act as a stop for them.

the aft structure is not a wide as the forward structure.......to compensate for this,  I added two  posts.....one on each side,  of the aft structure.

as mentioned,  I also began to do the edge stripping around the deck    half of it is now done.

a canopy brace spans both sides of the area between the structures.   they were stained and given a couple coats of gloss lacquer.  here is one of them....they are both in place now

the bottom coral gate hooks are in place as well........the top pair will be added soon.  the resat of the edging was added to the deck.

I had to run out and get more lacquer.......tried to find it in a bottle or can,  but I guess I'll have to go to Hobby Lobby for that.  I'll settle for the rattle cans for the moment  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

[russ]

Your riverboat is coming along nicely. I am looking forward to seeing what is next. Your details have are quite good. 

 

Russ

[JesseLee]

Been catching up with this today Denis. Good stuff as usual!

 

Jesse

[vossy]

looking really great. they really start to come together once a few of the decks go on and they start to rise up don't they.

 

chris

 

[Piet]

Very nice progress Denis.

 

Cheers,

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the good word Russ,  Jesse,  and Chris     I finished banding the deck last night.....a rarity for me during a work week.  I still need to trim where the poles will go and clean up the corners.....it's just about ready for the clear coat {lacquer}.  glad to have you look'in in   

 

I'll be happy once I'm where you are Chris...your way ahead of me   

 

thanks to all who hit the like button   

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Piet  

[Old Collingwood]

Looking superb my friend   she is becoming so life like.

 

OC.

[Omega1234]

Hi Denis. 

 

I’ve just been catching up over the past few days and boy, oh boy, she’s looking great (especially the herringbone deck)!

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

[md1400cs]

On 3/19/2018 at 5:11 PM, popeye the sailor said:

for the calking,  I got the idea from our wonderful moderators,  John and Danny.......archive pens.   I get mine from Hobby Lobby,  and have a variety of different tips { I use three of them}.   one time,  I got stupid and left the cap loose,  and almost ruined the pen.  but I bought a bottle of India Ink,  and a couple of squirts revived the pen.

 

Thanks Denis went Blicks to day and got these pens. Tried a sample - improvement over the Sharpie THANKS again

[popeye the sailor]

thanks OC and Patrick........gonna be a broken week.....I have a test to take on Thursday for a new job.   haven't done this type of work for a few years....I hope I can remember it all     so far today,  I did a bit more on the Norden to finish her up.......for the T.D.,  I want to start doing the planking on the second level structure and a few more things to the first level.   I hope to have something to show very soon here     thanks for the good word!

 

you don't have to thank me Michael......I'm just passing it along.  the sharpie ink is a lot thinner,  and will penetrate the wood easily.  it was a great suggestion by our wonderful moderators.  of course by my blunder,  I found that it is easy to revitalize these pens as well,  by simply adding India Ink to them....I let one  dry out by mistake.   I tried the pencil......I tried the crayon.....I've even tried the thin strip mahogany method.  but,  as soon as  I tried the archive pen...I was hooked     I'm just a humble modeler,  amazed by your work

[Kevin]

lovely work, i will have to think about the decking  on my build soon

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Kevin.........haven't done much with her yesterday.   the admiral wanted her treadmill moved out in an open spot of the room,  so I did some rearranging in there.   now I won't hear her complain that I've taken over the room   

 

staining some planking before I go to my test today.........fingers crossed   

[Old Collingwood]

2 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

thanks Kevin.........haven't done much with her yesterday.   the admiral wanted her treadmill moved out in an open spot of the room,  so I did some rearranging in there.   now I won't hear her complain that I've taken over the room   

 

staining some planking before I go to my test today.........fingers crossed   

Good luck mate.

 

OC.

[Kevin]

4 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Good luck mate.

 

OC.

 

6 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

thanks Kevin.........haven't done much with her yesterday.   the admiral wanted her treadmill moved out in an open spot of the room,  so I did some rearranging in there.   now I won't hear her complain that I've taken over the room   

 

staining some planking before I go to my test today.........fingers crossed   

good luck

[Piet]

Hope the test works well for you, good luck.

 

Cheers,

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the good luck wishes.......I wish I had good news to report.   I got the results back the same day...I failed to pass the test.   I had problems with a couple parts of the test,  which I'm sure affected the overall score.   I guess I've been out of the loop too long,,,that and the industry has changed so much.  I quit the garage back in 2000,  to work in a warehouse.   then in 2004,  went to work for Wal Mart transportation,  where I've spent most of my 13 years,  working on trailers.

   oh well.....the hunt continues.......or I could try for getting into another facet of the post office.   thanks for the thoughts and wishes    

 

I've been planking the structures...second and third level.  they are both the same,  so it makes sense to do one,  and then the other,  for the first to dry.  it will keep the conga line going.  I'll have some sort of update for you soon  

[Piet]

Tough break Denis, keep o plugging, something good will show up.

 

Cheers,

[md1400cs]

Denis,

 

So sorry to read this. But as Piet says yup keep on plugging---

[popeye the sailor]

thanks gents    .......I gave it a shot.   it was suggested to me,  to sit down with a model and lose myself in it.    instead I replaced the radiator in our car.  I yam undaunted.  something else will come along.......you betcha!   

 

Friday........I did some of the structure planking for the second and third levels.   if I could multitask.......I'da given the second level deck a lacquer coat.   before I could do the planking,  I needed to cement in place,  the opposite end panel.  I still need to cut out the windows on the other end.

I soaked this one for a short time...didn't break like the other one.   after sanding it to a rounded appearance,  the planking started.

note the plank on the far left.......the first one.  it's lifting....something I dreaded.  I will do something to hold the edge down,  but I think I'll resort to using narrower planking on the ends.  it will navigate the curvature much better.   the third level was an after thought.......it's the same shape....why not!   

I started just shy of the turn....that way I could start the narrower planking without too much of a bump.   I was also mindful of the tabs too....not leaving as much to trim away after.  so I cut the two wood piles...

changing over to the narrower planking,  I continued with the third level.  we had run an errand,  which gave this time to dry.  lengths were cut in half to go around the windows.

....and finding a good place to return to the regular planking,  I kept going around the other side.

trimming these structures is going to be a nightmare.....I can feel it.   it will get even more interesting when I begin on the windows and doors     I should finish off the coral gates......

[Old Collingwood]

Really impressive work my friend - all those wood panels are really making a huge difference, what a lovely piece of work you are doing.

 

OC.

[Piet]

Nice work Denis.

 

Cheers,

[popeye the sailor]

thanks OC and piet for the kind comments     and thanks to all for the likes.   I haven't gotten much further......but I did do a little trimming.   one more day at work......then it will be play time  

[Kevin]

your build continues to impress me, sorry about the job though

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Kevin........got a rainy day ahead of me here.   should be able to make some progress today    as for the job thing......I'll just keep looking,  that's all   

[Mike Dowling]

Making models is much for fun than job hunting !!

[popeye the sailor]

I agree whole heartedly Mike!      working on some progress as we speak!.........gotta let things dry for the moment.   another thing is browsing through your favorite modeling site   

[popeye the sailor]

well......I had fun yesterday     planking......planking..........and more planking    the second level structure is completely planked.

I trimmed off what I had done already...exposed the tabs.....and then continued. 

I was very happy to see that the final plank fit comfortably,  joining the plank band together.   couldn't have planned it any better myself......that was the question in my mind,  using the two sizes of planking.   I also finished trimming the stairway area of the second level deck.   once it was ready,  it went to the paint booth, to get two coats of gloss lacquer.

the stand I made for it is good.......but I need to improve on it.  the hull moves around on it,  making some work done on it a little unstable.  

    I first cut the excess wood from it,  to make it look better.

I marked off the center between the bars of Balsa at both ends,  and made up these two chocks for the keel.

while they were drying......I started to trim the excess from the planking.  I used the clippers,  and then sanded the edge flush.

....I can't wait till I get to the windows and doors.   trimming them out is going to be a chore    I don't recall seeing doors with rounded tops.......they must be metal parts.  I will have to make them scratch,  from wood........I already know that I will that I will need to do  the windows.  in between all this,  I also cut the paddle boards for the wheel.....planning my attack to paint the metal parts.   by this time,  the chocks were dry enough to trim,  sand,  and cement into place.

I sanded the bars down a bit,  because the board is warped to a degree.......trying to make up for it.  I'm sure that as more work is done to the model,  it will get heavier,  and will flatten out the stand on it's own.   I may need to file the slot in the chocks to make up for this,  so the keel has the room to sit in the slots fully.   the deck is dry now........has the same sheen as the first level......glad to see that      it was put aside....it will be cemented on once I can get the hull back on the stand.

this has taken some time........but the windows and doors are almost completely trimmed out.  it's as tedious as I though it would be.

one last thing I started to create,  is the fender at the bow.   I had been soaking a piece of the mahogany wood for most of the morning.   I got the parts panel for the deck out of the box,  and set it up on a piece of pine wood.  I'm using it to bend the wood to the contour of the deck.

I have been very careful not to ruin the panels........sneaky,  sneaky me    I have a 'what if' brewing in the back of my mind.  icky mae   

 

Edited April 5, 2018 by popeye the sailor
just being me

[rafine]

Denis, you're racing along to another beauty. Great work.

 

Bob

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Bob........this morning,  I was standing in the kitchen....came up with an idea for the windows.   now for the doors      thanks for the good word!