New member hello

[Ddgandalf]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say a quick hello after having had my application to become a member approved!
 

Whilst I’m a new member on this forum, I’m not quite a newbie when it comes to model boat building.  

 

I’m a keen modeller and hobbiest, albeit primarily plastic kits and tabletop gaming. That was until about five years ago when I rashly purchased a constructo HMS victory wooden kit from eBay which looked like it was particularly good value.

 

Fast forward five years and I am about halfway through the build having picked it up and put it down several times, but I’m currently back to really enjoying the process.  Work and four children make time Precious hence it’s taking me longer than anticipated.

 

The process of rigging is looming large and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need some support with that hence was looking around for Online advice and found this forum which hopefully will be useful.

 

I visited the real HMS victory last year and a couple of weeks ago went to Chatham historic dockyard where the ship was originally built but which also boasts a huge collection of wooden replica ships of various scales.  This was massively inspiring for me and I would absolutely recommend it.  It was funny seeing the same techniques being used on an industrial scale (steaming wood to fit the hull for example)!

 

I’ve had a look at some of the Previous posts which do warn against first timers starting a very advanced kit, there is definitely some truth to that. I was pretty sure I was only going to ever build one wooden ship and wanted to ‘go big or go home!’

 

Overall for me, I’m pleased that I started with this kit as my first attempt. I’ve definitely made a few mistakes along the way, but my skills have improved massively through the build and I’m now significantly faster as a result of making those mistakes, practising my skills and investing in a small number of high-quality tools.

 

If I were to go back to the beginning, I would give my Previous self (and other potential beginners) three bits of advice:

 

 1. It doesn’t have to be perfect! You can make mistakes (in my experience most of these get covered up with subsequent bits of the build).  Some bits of your build are going to be really really tricky, just do the best you can and if it’s good enough for you then that’s all that matters.
2. If you’re getting frustrated or bored, stop. No one‘s forcing you to do it. Have a bit of a rest, do something else for a bit and you can come back to it when you are feeling in the mood.

3. Look ahead. It’s easy to focus on one particular instruction or part of the process.   Skip forward a few pages, look to see how one particular part of the building is going to impact on other parts.  That will tell you how important accuracy is going to be and how you may make life easier for yourself in the future.
 

Thanks again for letting me join your club and I look forward to hopefully becoming an active member.

 

 

 

[vossiewulf]

[GrandpaPhil]

Welcome!

[Jim Lad]

Hello, and a warm welcome to MSW from 'Down Under'.

 

John

[Baker]

[Capt. Kelso]

Welcome!

[AJohnson]

Welcome to MSW!