Half Moon by popeye the sailor - Billing Boats - 1:40 scale kit

[riverboat]

Have to ditto Bindy..... Man they really came out nice!!

[popeye the sailor]

thank you Frank.....I was a bit worried that it might be too large, but I guess glad to see the latter! thanks for the good word!

[popeye the sailor]

here is a little progress I made yesterday. I have more parts to add to the bow, and I stained them in prep.

 

 

in my pictures of the ship, I do not see these curved rails. I will put them in though, because of what I have planned for them. I'm making a couple more parts for the ship's boat....they need to be curved.

 

 

I added the bow rails at this point and installed the bow spirit. I drilled a hole in the bulkhead {at the angle needed}, and drilled a hole in the end of the bow spirit, which I installed a piece of brass rod. the rod went into the hole in the bulkhead and the spirit rests on the bow stem.

 

 

when the pieces of wood were dry, they were stained and seal coated. they will be installed along the interior to serve as seat supports

 

 

then I finally bit the bullet........masking the hull for the bottom paint

 

 

It looks ok.......but I think I thinned the paint too much. I got a couple of areas where the paint seeped in the corners at the stern. I need to get more flat red now......I used what I had left on this little venture.

 

[Jim Lad]

Great progress, Popeye!

 

John

[jct]

Bottom paint looks good, I see your going up with the masts...still building mine up...Red and White strips hummm...

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the good word and all the likes! I took Monday off......hopefully I can get more done on her

 

 

thanks John

 

thanks J........just the bow spirit for now....I have a few more parts that will go on the bow area. with the spirit in place, I can get a better idea of where the other parts go thanks for the good word!

 

the Tee shirt idea.........I like it!

[dragzz]

vary nice popeye its looks great so far 

[NAZGÛL]

Nice progress Pops, I like the look you made!

 

 

/Matti

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Dragzz and Matti........this past week has been hard to get anything done! I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel though, and I should be back at the table.

[popeye the sailor]

thank you Lawrence.......a bit more work and they'll look more the part

[Jerry]

Hey Popeye....Great work on your Half Moon...I agree with Lawrence that your ship boats are fantastic.  Real nice work.  So when is the log going to continue.  Or am I missing something/

Best regards,

Jerry

[popeye the sailor]

JULY!!!!   wow.......I've been away for a while!   sorry Jerry......getting these builds caught up has been slower than I thought!   I really didn't count on building the Andrea Gail either.........it's been very hard to turn away from it.   that build is almost finished though,  and I may pick this build back up next.  I was going to continue on one of the other fishing boats,  but I may have to order stuff for them.

 

to recap what needs to be done here,   I was unhappy with the bottom paint......it seems too low,  and there was some bleeds in the corners.   this needs to be corrected,  before I can continue.   once this is done though.......I have plenty of parts ready to go on the model,  and there will be some major progress to be seen.  I ask for your patience.........I will be back shortly     oh......yes flat red!......gotta get some of that!

[Jerry]

You're a busy guy...regards from Olive Oyl....

Jerry

[popeye the sailor]

I'll get it dwindled down sooner or later.....shopping day today.  had a funny moment there........going down the refrigerated aisle,  a worker was filling an island case.  she goes down one side calling out......left.......I go round the other side calling out....right.  we repeat the navigation until we get to where the fellow is.

    I let out a Popeye laugh,  and that perked him up!  he looks at me and say something about not wanting to follow the navigator.....I reply in my Popeye voice  "I follows me own course!"   and let out another laugh.   I didn't look back to see if he was on the floor or not   

 

I do a very good  'Goofy' too........but then again.......that goes without saying 

[popeye the sailor]

regards to you as well........Olive! 

[popeye the sailor]

you'll never guess what build ended back on the table.........     it was about time that the Titanic was moved to the other table, the parts have dwindled down enough.   now I can have the best of both worlds 

 

 

 

looking at the rigging diagrams.......the old familiar headaches surfaced again.   though I need to look at the  'real'  ship pictures again,   I recalled the Corel kit that was done by Jerry and JCT,  and I still want incorporate some of the detail from that kit,  to this one.   I already have the decorations for the tack line sheave holes...thanks to JCT and the kind folks from Corel for sending them to me.  the other hurdle will be the cannon port lid spacing.   Billing's only show two lids at the fore section {half} of the ship.........the Corel kit show four,  which looks much more logical and appealing.   the main mast shroud has an even spaced arrangement.......while I am writing this........I took a quick glance at JCT's build,  and saw that Corel made allowance for it.   so,  I will do the same for this build     as soon as I can get back the jist in direction of which I was going........I'll be OK 

 

the first thing was to assemble all the lids I cut prior,  and arrange them on a piece of sticky tape.   I was not happy with a couple of them,  so I cut a couple new ones.

 

 

on the transom face of the ship,  I had included the four lids there........for the seal along the tops,  I trimmed the anchor rope I had made up for the Gothenborg.  there was quite a bit extra and that build would not need it {another poor soul that I need to get back to}.......I used it for this purpose.   seeing that there was no more.......and no more extra,  I had to make more.......just some medium thickness Billing's thread,  stained,  and then coated with diluted white glue.

 

 

now for the hinges......the transom's were done with simple mahogany strip painted flat black.   more was made to continue the process.   it would not do to replace them with brass.

 

 

when we were out looking for the doll house lighting for the Titanic.......we checked out the local Michael's craft store.   they had moved to a new location.......wanted to see if they had expanded any of their product lines.   bit bust on that front......I guess the only place I can get them will be from Hobby Lobby.   I did come away with something though.......they do stock Balsa and Basswood.......nice to know........but I also found this package of thin dowels......they'd be like 2 mm.......can't give you the diameter value.

 

 

these will come in handy for railings,  cannon wheel axles, flag poles,  among some of the uses for them.   they couldn't have been spotted any sooner........railings will be what I'll used them for     the hinge hardware was then cemented to the lids........the extra part on the end will be for the life boat........the very step I was working on before I fell victim to the tangent that took me away from this build.

 

 

one aspect I was going to delete.........{perish the though.....it ain't so........}  was the whip staff.    located behind the mizzen mast root,  as it passes through the decks,  I thought that it might not be very visible.   seeing it added to the otyher builds made me think differently.  it was quickly assembled and added to the build.

 

 

the light was directly over it........now THAT'S mahogany!  {that's the stain color}.   the build is being enhanced with dark walnut with a mahogany tone added.  it's kinda neat........makes some of the aspects stand out     the flag pole bracket was also added to the build......located on the poop deck.

 

 

so.......at this point,  I'll be working on the railings and ladders........* ohhhh! not ladders again!  I just went through all kinds of grief with the last build..*       I should be glad about this........they are in the Billing's diagrams.   I began by assembling the bow railing,  using the round stock.   next will be the ladders......so to gauge the rest of the railings.

 

 

I should get the chain boards set up and ready to install..........this will help to position the cannon port lids    wwe'll see what happens?!?!

 

 

Edited August 18, 2015 by popeye the sailor

[NenadM]

I have just. wondered when it wil happened

...

 

Wood force is strong with you, my friend

[Jerry]

Hello Popeye...

Good to see you back with the Half Moon.  Looks like you're back in business again.  Nothing new here just trying to help the Admiral with her Bounty which is in the hull planking stage.  Using 1.5mm x 6mm stips is very difficult as they are hard to bend and work with.  I think Charlene picked a very tough project for a first build.  Good luck with your Half Moon; good to see you again.

Best regards,

Jerry

[Omega1234]

Hi Denis

 

How could I have missed this build log?????  She's looking really nice, especially the ship's boats.

 

Looks like I've got a lot of catching up to do, though!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[popeye the sailor]

thanks to you all........yes,  it's good to be playing with wood again!   .......felt good in the fingers    I did say that this was going to happen......just a question of which one.  just got to get myself positioned in the saddle correctly,  so I don't get saddle sores   

 

thanks Nenad! 

 

thanks Jerry........I'll be looking closely at yours and JCT's build.   there are some aspects that the Billing kit does not have........that and the direction I was going in comparison to the actual ship......the remake of it,  of course     rigging will be another hurdle.......the diagrams I have looks like someone went nutz with a straight edge........I can see where some initiate,  but hard to see where they terminate.

     that blunt bow will get you every time......but she's doing well.   I think back to when I did my first ship........oh baby......was I green!   what seems tough in the beginning,  will be a joy in the end........I envy the two of you,  working together so closely.   my admiral won't have anything to do with it,  after seeing some of the stuff I do.......she says I'm crazy       it stuns me to hear that her favorite is 'ole Nordie'.   none the less, it will be a special treasure to look at the Bounty later on,  and know that you did it together    nothing can top that........well, perhaps the birth of your first child.   I hope you have something new to report......I'm still in the process of catching up.

 

thanks Patrick.   it's always been here........just that it's been dormant for so long       if you like to read,  I have the expanded version on the Word Press site:

 

https://wenzelswharf.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/billingshalf-moon-a-140-scale-kit-part-54/

 

this is the wharf itself..........I wish I could link all the other to it.    .......still not as smart as I should be concerning blog sites.  this will take you to the middle of the ship's boat fiasco.   believe it or not.......I started this build in May of 2013.   my modus operandi has always been the same.......get an idea {or kit}, keep it in my head for a while,.....and then,  when I can't stand it any longer.....off I go       I'll still be working on Titanic......painting the handrails on every one I've put in place already.   then I can continue with the ones I still need to do.   so slow........touching them up is really a drag,  but this build will fill in the gaps.

 

more to come.........thanks again for looking in! 

[GLakie]

Just found this myself Dennis. She looks great from what I've seen so far. I'm going to have some catching up to do myself. 

[Jim Lad]

So we're back to a Popeye multi-build!

 

John

[jct]

Hey Popeye...good to see you back on your HM, love the whip staff..wish I would have thought of it, but mine is cased and will remain as is.  Hey give me a heads up if you want me to measure the distance between the gun ports on the Corel plans...they're still in the pile somewhere.

Looking fwd to the next installment

J

[UpstateNY]

Hi Popeye,

 

Your Half Moon looks great and I really like the bright color  on the bulwarks next to the red wood of the hull.

 

Enjoy the fresh sawdust and I will enjoy following along as usual!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[popeye the sailor]

howdy ....hi there......and hello!  thanks for the kind word and the likes!      I've got another update on her.......it remedies the huge problem I had with the bottom paint work.   the tack line decorations are in place J..........they look great! 

 

thanks George.........enjoy the catch up! 

 

hello John.......heard you were off on a trip....glad your back!     multi build....hmmmm........well,  if your referring to what I have on the table at the moment,  I'd say it;s about time I started to use the other table for what it was meant to be,  instead of a catch all       as for my recent banter.......I should remember an old saying:   loose lips,  sinks ships!   

 

thanks J.......between the Holiday build and the Andrea Gail.....I don't know where the time went.   I should keep in mind that spinach and Seagram don't mix       I appreciate the offer.........I've got it down to a simple idea......as long as I stay within the fore deck bulkhead and the aft deck bulkhead,  I should be good.    we'll leave it as........if you get a chance     I thought you added a whip staff??.........must have been Jerry's build I was thinking of.

      I'm kinda hoping it doesn't get lost in the detail sense.........awwww,  no matter,  I added it 

 

thanks Nigel..........that's the power of Billing's mahogany stain and min wax dark walnut.   my thought is that there are a few degrees of mahogany tones,  from the wood that I've gotten from Billing Boats.  to achieve a darker mahogany tone,  I've used the dark walnut first,  and then went over it with the mahogany stain.    some of the accents {parts},  I've left as a dark walnut,  to blend the two colors together.   once there is more on the deck,  the contrast should show up more.   glad to have you following along 

[popeye the sailor]

here you go J.........the  tack line decorations are finally in place.  Corel sent me ten of them.........I drilled and painted up the whole lot.   I picked out the best ones and put 'em on.

 

 

 

long time in the making my friend........I recall how impatient I was to get them.   again......I thank you for showing them to me.......and I thank Corel {if your browsing} for being so generous    now with the bottom paint.......between the paint bleeds and the fact that it was too low....well,  it was something I really had to fix.   it was raised almost 3/4 of an inch.......it covers the bleeds at the stern and the incorrect arc at the bow.

 

 

....sanded lightly a few areas that had a raised paint line.

 

 

 

a lot of the problem here,  is that I had thinned the paint down too much.........or had done it for another build and forgot about it.   too bad......I did like the way it looked.......kind of an antiquing hue to it.   I'm still painting on the porch......lots of ventilation and light.  I spread out a box to widen the area.

 

 

 

keeping the hull perpendicular and letting it skin over a little..........the tape came off!   my lovely assistant helped me by holding the removed paper     at first,  she was afraid that I had painted over the wood color........but I assured her that there's still plenty to see.   another funny I had.........I had showed you the fore deck railing to go along the bow.   I had fitted it and it was awaiting the walnut stain.   well........I forgot it was on there when I masked it up.   I held that hull every which way but loose.........it never came out of place!   while I was removing the masking,  I hit it with a finger,  and it fell on the cardboard table!   it didn't break........WOW!    the stern cam out looking much better.

 

 

the coverage was even better.........close to 1/4 oz of paint was used.   the bleeds are almost non existent.   the bow came out better as well........the line is a lot straighter.  it too is a lot crisper than it was before.....the bottom isn't so blotchy either.

 

 

 

 

this was a win / win.........with a little paint left over for the rudder..........which I should get off my duff and install 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

as this dries,  it will lose most of the sheen.   it had better.......it was flat paint     I went back in my pictures and found the perfect  'before'  picture........

 

 

 

here is the  'after' photo.....big difference!

 

 

 

 

yea........very glad I chose to redo this

[GLakie]

Nice paint-job Dennis. She looks great! 

[captainbob]

"yea........very glad I chose to redo this  ;)"

 

Me too.

 

Bob

[JesseLee]

Beautiful!