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

[BANYAN]

You don't stand still do you Denis, i just found your new build and your well into it already!  Looks good!  I'll take more time to have a better look now that I have found it

 

cheers

 

Pat

[popeye the sailor]

thanks OC.......once I do all the other stuff, band it,  and get a coat or two of lacquer on it,   the wood grain should show up nicely.  thanks for the good word   

 

thanks Pat     this one has been in the works for a while now.........do you mean the one I just started?   no matter........it's still a treat to kow your following along   

[popeye the sailor]

hello Brian.........there is a cap that fits over it.......then there is a small structure that sit on the cap.   it appears to be a vent of some sort.... I will be assembling it likely in the next session.   it was a bit of work,  but I like this pattern........too bad the last of these decks will be straight planking.

 

thanks for the good word..........and thanks all for the likes   

[vossy]

How's the problematic staircase going Pop? Nice work on the decks to mate!

 

Cheers

 

Chris

 

[popeye the sailor]

work'in my way back to it.   I also want to do something with the windows and doors......I really don't want to use those metal parts.   I see them in the instructions, and I think .......yuck!   I still need to finish the cabin on that level as well....one end still needs to be planked.  more to come soon   

 

thanks for look'in in   

[vossy]

From what I have seen on other builds of this vessel those parts shouldn't be too hard to fabricate from wood. Specially for a man of your talents!

 

Cheers

 

Chris

 

[popeye the sailor]

the way they show in the instructions is not that great........they don't give too much in the way of measurements either.   I was up early this morning and got right to it.   this project is first.........I'm going to try doing a bit on other projects too.   I kinda liked how it went last week.  I have one of the stairs almost fitted......I'll need to do the other side.  of course,  I goofed and made them both the same.......they needed to be opposite of one another.  once I can arrive to where I left off,  I can then attack the problem again.   that will likely be when I start making the windows.

[popeye the sailor]

I stopped for lunch guys..........aside from taking Gibbs out,  I've spent all morning on the T.D.   even the camera needed a refueling!     Brian had asked about where I'm going next with the build,  so it starts there.  the opening in the center of the third deck has a rise from the structure below,  and it must be built up.  there are vents that line the upper part of the rise...but I'll get to this later.   I'm not doing what they instruct me to do.  so it starts with the base layer of wood....the two ends and the sides.

so while this was drying,  I figured that I'd plank the deck that serves as it's roof.

as I got to the outer edges,  I saw that a full width plank wouldn't fit..........so I used a 2 mm plank strip to finish it off.

there are two holes I need to open up when I'm able to.  I went over it with a wash of stain,  wiping it off quickly......all I want it to do is cover over any unstained spots that may have shown up.  it matches well with the below deck.

later........to drill out the holes,  I clamped it to a piece of junk plywood and drilled them out with the same size bit.   on this deck is a smaller cabin structure....above that,  is another smaller deck.   I planked this one next,  staining up a couple more strips when I ran low.

they are all trimmed and sanded around the outer edges.   back on the third deck,  twelve short pieces were cut from the same wood, the base frame was made from.  they were arranged on the rise giving them spaces in between......one on the fore and aft ends as well.

the one on the fore end juts out from the shape of the base frame,  and needed to be trimmed and sanded to match the shape.

as you can see,  it was stained over to mask the sanding marks.   since the wood used didn't match,  the entire rise was stained.  it looks much better than to leave it with two different hues of wood.

I recall running out of that particular shade of gray,  that I used for the undersides of the lower decks.   since the underside of this deck will be unnoticeable,  I stained it.

checking to be sure I drilled out all of the holes,  the two smaller decks were banded with thin strip mahogany.  I washed my hands to loosen up the caked on CA,  on my fingers.

I left the banding that overlapped the slots for the structure,  just in case it would be needed.   as for the third deck,  the other holes were drilled out, leaving a couple of the slots closed,  and it too was banded.  I still need to figure out what to do about the underside,  since this deck is more like the lower decks and should be painted gray.......I need to get more paint  

I found some spare thin strips that I had stained in mahogany,  so I also finished the small cabin structure too.

I didn't bother to cut out for windows.....the lavatory doesn't need them!  privy must be the shortened word for privacy     ok....my musing is over......lunch is done........guess I'll go find something to do   

[cog]

19 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

I didn't bother to cut out for windows.....the lavatory doesn't need them!  privy must be the shortened word for privacy     ok....my musing is over......lunch is done........guess I'll go find something to do   

you are going to do something too!? 

 

Looks interesting the "vents" , I would have expected them smaller, especially at the corners. Nice shades ... the wood that is

[Kevin]

She is looking very good

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Carl.......I thought about filling the corners in,  but bending that stuff would be hard to do.......and it would look terrible in plywood.   I will likely line the inside with tulle,  and obscure the view that way.   the admiral cautioned me about the weather tomorrow - rain...........so I went out and picked up all the grass clippings

 

thanks Kevin!   

Edited October 10, 2018 by popeye the sailor

[BANYAN]

That deck colour looks great denis; nice work.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Pat..     I got a bit more done.......the structure has been trimmed and touched up with stain.  perhaps later,  I will cobble it together and do a dry fit to see how all this looks now.    I really need to get busy on the windows and doors.......I have an idea on how to make them.   thanks for the good word!

 

thanks to all for the likes   

[Jim Lad]

I just don't understand where you find the time to do so much on so many models all at once, mate!  I especially like that deck.

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

thanks John    time......that's easy.......I rent      if I owned a home, things would be very different   

 

thanks Brian.......I'll try and show you soon   

 

thanks to all for the likes!

[popeye the sailor]

I guess this is soon enough      I just had a rather funny experience with the Progress........I took it off the table so what I did can dry  {or else I'll just keep pick'in at it  }     here is the dry fit I promised.

not cutting the outer banding on the two upper decks was a good thing to do......the tabs for the structure can't be seen.   I'm gonna try using the tulle for those vent holes.

[Old Collingwood]

Looking smart denis  - all stacked together like that.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks gents   it's where I am so far.  more to come.....thanks for the likes as well!  

[src]

Great to see you back on this one Dennis. Be afraid when the Admiral isnt yelling at you, that is a sure sign they are cooking up some kind of mischief for you.

You mentioned earlier about 'getting back to one armed paperhanger speed" Looks to me like you have a whole room full of paper hangers going for you.

Sam

[popeye the sailor]

hello Sam.thanks for the good word     I do have a small update on her progress.   I should have it up soon.........perhaps I can add more  

[md1400cs]

Looking super nice indeed. Like the white off-set a lot

[popeye the sailor]

thank you Michael    there will be more,  once I start making the windows.  

 

there are some steps......parts of the lower level,  that I skipped over.   I started to assemble the paddle.......painting the metal parts reminds me why I dislike these parts.   seeing as I was down for the count yesterday,  the admiral went out and bought me a spray can of flat black........should make life easier.   I put the hinges on the aft section doors.........not happy with how thick they look,  but they are on none the less.

I'll be pick'in away at these skipped assemblies and parts as I go along.   in the meantime,  I will also start to make the windows and doors.   more soon!   

[Jim Lad]

She's really coming along nicely, Popeye!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

thanks John.......I did a little more on her today      I was play'in with the linkage for the paddle wheel.........I can't find anything in the kit to assemble the rods to the arms on the paddle wheel shaft.    gonna have to improvise I guess....I'll figure something out    I've also been working on the few things I skipped over........try to get them out of the way.

 

should have an update tomorrow    thanks all for the likes!

[popeye the sailor]

an update on the small stuff.........the admiral got me the can of flat black paint.   fist thing was to spray the frames for the paddle wheel.

here are the parts for the paddle wheel.......the rods.....and the wood I had cut for the paddles.  the rudders were assembled and set aside to dry.  the only thing I couldn't find were the pins to connect the rod parts.   I'll have to improvise.   the bow fender has been trimmed and sanded to shape.....I still need to drill the holes {fairleads}.

I also began the assembly for the signage.........two rectangular pieces of 1/32 basswood,  painted white.

I'll sand them later and give them another coat.   the rudders were stained in mahogany and test fitted in place.   I'll be trimming them so they sit closer to the transom.

errands are done.........I've been doing more on her.   another update soon   

[popeye the sailor]

I'm feel'in much better today.......the admiral thinks so too..........I'm eat'in everything in the house!      .......and I've been busy!  even with all the distractions,  I've managed to amass quite an update for ya folks!  it all started with having to recut the shaft for the paddle wheel......darned if I knew where it went.  ....and then I thought........is that the piece of dowel that the wheel frames are drying on?!?!  no matter......I have plenty of dowel    one of the connector arms was cemented on the freshly cut shaft

still thinking of what to use the connect the two arms together........while I was pondering the matter,  all of the paddle blades were painted.

the smaller holes were all drilled out to 5/64 ths.........I used a brass rod to fit them......then cut and filed to length.

the longer arms were in the paint booth being painted flat black.  they were brought to the table and drilled out as well.

off to the paint booth went the shaft and the other connecting arm.  the signage was another aspect that was in the works.   these were painted white and later sanded around the edges.   I had some darker wood,  a 1/16 x 1/16 strip.......I think it's walnut........I started to build the frame around them.

the outer sides of the longer arms is indented...........I painted inside the indention with flat red,  and detailed them with gold

yea.......nice imperfection.....huh?!?!?!  oh well.....it's metal and I can't do anything about it.   turning back to the signage,  the frame was trimmed and sanded .......then I went over it with a clear lacquer.   Murphy had to get his dig in......there was some residual red paint still in the brush.......I'm sure you can guess the rest      even though the damage was minor,  they had to be repainted.   with a CLEAN brush  they were repainted.........and when they were dry,  the decal was applied.   sorry to say.......it wasn't the decal that everyone chose......ohhhh no........Murphy I guess got miffed because I thwarted his plans,  and decided to ruin one of the chosen decals........stain or some spatter of paint....not sure.   they still look good......I used the decals that didn't have the border around the dice.

the admiral saw them later.......she didn't even notice the difference    the bow fender had been sanded........I cemented it in place on the bow.

I think I'll better be able to gauge the fairlead holes with it in place.   with everything pretty much dry,  the paddle wheel was assembled.   the paddle boards cemented in place with CA {just the outside frames},  and then touched up.  I still need to touch up the black.......forgot to do that before assembly.

 

 

[md1400cs]

Wheel looks perfect !!

Edited October 19, 2018 by md1400cs

[popeye the sailor]

the rudders were trimmed so they would fit closer to the hull.   I still need to give them a coat or two of clear lacquer.........I failed to snap a picture of them in place.   the signage is up........the Tumblin' Dice has it's name!  

the paddle wheel is in place too.........the connecting rods aren't in place yet though.   I wanted to give the gold plenty of time to dry.......it's one of the worst colors in relation to drying time.   any metallic is,  in fact....in some cases,  I'll give it a coat of lacquer,  so it will attain a hard finish.

I made sure that the other connecting arm was opposite of the other......

for most of the time being,  the model remained in the dry fit condition.........stacked up as you last saw it.   I was surprised to find that the admiral hadn't seen it........I said "really!?!?!?!"  so,  to remedy the situation,  I set the model back up for her to see.  as mentioned,  she never even noticed that I used different decals for the signage.

I do believe it looks like I made some progress       I am pleased!   I'll see what I can come up with in the next update.   

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Michael   

[Old Collingwood]

Great work denis,   I know keeping busy with something to disstract you is a help,    and with the dentist  - "Oh boy do I know abit about teeth problems"   I have suffered all my life  if not tooth then  Abscess problems causing my whole side of my face to blow up  and the Pain  - "Throb throb".

 

OC.