I have adopted another orphaned kit

[mtdoramike]

Thanks druxey. I'm getting ready to start installing the deck cabins and all that detail stuff.

[mtdoramike]

I was able to spend a few hours working on the Nordkap today and have the super structure of the deck housing installed as well as a few other odds and ends. The entire super structure is removeable to allow access to the motor bay in the hull as well as the rudder. You will have to esxcuse the messy work area, that is my process.

Edited January 25, 2022 by mtdoramike

[mtdoramike]

I would like to point out that even though the hardware/fittings package cost an additional $200.00, it did include several upgraded parts such and plastic hatch covers, doors, brackets, which or crane parts. All of those in the original kit would have to be cut out and made of wood, which looked awful.

[mtdoramike]

I Christen thee Caribbean Breeze. 

[Keith Black]

 Mike, she's a peach.

[mtdoramike]

Thanks Keith, another couple of weeks she'll be ready for her maiden voyage.

[mtdoramike]

Finished making the railings, which was quite a bit.

[popeye the sailor]

she looks great Mike!  you've come quite a long way with her    so true........these old kits are not laser cut,  which makes life a bit more challenging.  the fitting kit does have the upgrades,  but there were a few things that I wasn't crazy about.  in the original fitting kit,  the anchor winch and the net winch were made of metal ....in the new fitting kit,  the main bodies are laser cut wood parts.   the boat crane is plastic,  but it wasn't part of the original kit.  I cut the parts out and assembled it.......later getting the idea to motorize it.  the kit I got to build the Progress is an older kit.....the parts panels and the planking is mahogany.  I used basswood and Obechi,  and save the mahogany planking for future use {a sailing ship perhaps}.  I also fancied the idea to elongate the hull and build this vessel:

 

the stern came out really nice.......I had a heck of a time with mine.  the outer panel  broke and I had to repair it.   superb job all the way around......very nice choice of paint!  

[BobG]

Nice work, Mike!

[mtdoramike]

Thanks guys, I really had to practice my solder skills or the lack there of before doing the railings. I started out making a jig, and make the railings laid out on my work bench. Short story long, that was a couple of hours and materials wasted. I found the easiest and most efficient way was to just build them on the model. You know what they say about hind sight. Now to clean all that flux off the railings before painting them white.     

[mtdoramike]

I know what you mean Popeye, the crane in the upgrade fitting kit is plastic in mine as well, but the kit also included the wooden version. I'm going to see which one looks better.

[CDW]

You really did that little orphan some justice, Mike. Great looking ship, exceptional colors.

[mtdoramike]

Thanks CD, blue is my favorite color, plus I had some left over from a previous build. I was able to spend a few hours on the Nordkap/Breeze yesterday and got the railings all cleaned up and painted, hand crane built and installed as well as several other fittings.  

[mtdoramike]

I also fashioned the smoke stack, painted it black and installed it. Now Billings supplies a chunk of balsa wood that is kind of in the shape of the stack, you just have to sand it down in order to get the final shape. I used what came in the kit, but if I did it over, I would use 3 to 4 pieces of white pine or similar wood stacked together, which takes sanding better and gives a better finish in the end.   

 

And yes I know, my work bench is a mess, but to me it's an organized mess at least that is what I keep telling my wife every time she brings up "How can you work like that, how can you find anything?"

Edited February 6, 2022 by mtdoramike

[mtdoramike]

I'm going to refigure the top rigging line where the squiggly line is on the plan because where it terminates will not work for RC operation. The rear post termination point is removable as is the entire cabin area to gain access to the interior compartment.  

[mtdoramike]

Well she is pretty much done, I just have to tiddy it up a bit, finish off the display shipping board and a few other do dads.

[Keith Black]

Mike, she came out nice for an abandoned child. Really well done. 

[CDW]

Beautiful!

[mtdoramike]

Finally a display/shipping base befitting of a boat of her caliber!

[BobG]

Very nice work, Mike!

[mtdoramike]

I hope the previous owner is looking down on the model from heaven with a huge smile on his face on finally see it become the finished model he had hoped it could be and be very pleased. I tried not to think about it when I was finishing it, but now that she's pretty much complete, it brings a tear to my eye now that I'm thinking about it and knowing that this will be me one day looking down or up what ever the case may be hahahaha with a bit of admiration for the person who finishes my unfinished projects. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by mtdoramike

[BobG]

I'm sure he's smiling at the wonderful job you done to finish this model in fine fashion, Mike, and there will be a place at the ship modeling table for you along with the rest of us when the time comes. Until then, keep up the good work!

Edited February 22, 2022 by BobG

[mtdoramike]

Thank you Bob.

[Landlubber Mike]

That's really nicely done Mike.  Love the colors you used.  I'm sure the prior owner is looking down with a big smile of satisfaction. 

[popeye the sailor]

she looks awesome Mike!  I enjoyed shaping the funnel for mine...took my belt sander,  laid it upside down in a milk crate,  and had at it    blue seems to be the fitting color for this model....I used a grabber blue.  you really did a nice job!  the base is sweet!  

[mtdoramike]

Thanks Mike and Popeye, I did the same, I flipped my belt sander upside down on my outside work bench and went to work on it. The kit supplied a balsa block, which I relunctantly used. But if I did it over, I would have glued together some pine or similar wood blocks, it would give a nicer finish. I skim coated the balsa smoke stack with auto bondo and sanded it smooth to get a better finish.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

I have a chance to do another for the Progress.  once I shaped the one for the Nordkap,  I sealed it and then did the finish sanding.   I did the hawse holes for the anchors like I did for the Nordkap,  but I'm thinking of changing it to a more oval look.  I see you left the boat crane as a manual crank.  this was the first wood kit I ever built,  and being uncut forced me to learn scratch early.  I assembled the one that came with the kit and the one from the fitting kit........I may use them both.  I'm also playing with the idea of a fore deck,  which will deviate from the pictures I have of the Progress.  your probably wondering.......the Progress kit was produced around the same time as the Nordkap kit.......it is basically a clone of the Nordkap kit.  there were two kits,  the full size Progress and a Junior kit.  another kit that was produced in this fashion was the Wavney class life boat...

[mtdoramike]

Your right Popeye the Progress does look quite sililar to the Nordkap with subtle differences too. But then again, most fishing trawlers looked about the same with just diferent names. 

Edited February 23, 2022 by mtdoramike

[BobG]

Maybe it will be like this for us someday, Mike!

 

 

 

 

 

[mtdoramike]

Yep that would be me alright.