Holiday Harbor by popeye the sailor - 1:20 scale - multi build

[popeye the sailor]

the journey continues with the bulwark planking.   I'd do a little here,  and a little there.....in between,  messing with other things.  since I had the one called Larry on the slip,  I continued with the planking until the bulwarks were complete.  I even did a little sanding,  along with the sanding at the stern,  to eliminate the plank stubbles.

 

 

 

 

next was the one called Moe.......it was refreshing to work with real plywood,  even though it was a bit harder to use pins

 

 

 

 

the third row on each one of them has the butt joint in the same place.   it was time to lay the fourth row.

 

 

 

 

last,  but not least,  was the one called Curly.   I got tied up with  'other things'.........but I did manage to get all the planking done.

 

 

 

I did say that I was going to bounce around and do some sub assemblies.  I decided to do a bit of work on the Boulogne Etaples........the host of this little fiasco.   it was pretty cool to see the four hulls together.

 

 

with all the bulwark planking done..........I can move on 

[Jim Lad]

Great going, Popeye!  It's a wonder you have space for the m all!

 

John

[edmay]

Hello Denis,comps been down,will read to catch up,your project is looking good,Edwin

[popeye the sailor]

it'll get better now John........I can do the planking one at a time.   I have the hallway to store the others in while this is going on.   this will take some time to do........I'd better have the stands ready as well.  thanks for the good word 

 

hey Ed.......sorry to hear of your computer woes........hopefully you'll be up and running soon      thanks for the good word as well. 

 

thanks for the likes gents.....I really appreciate it 

Edited December 13, 2013 by popeye the sailor

[texxn5]

Wow Popeye, you've really got a project going on.  Looking very good my friend.  Nice that you have room for all of them....by the way what is the length of the triplets????  They appear to be pretty good size....keep up the good work......hope your "car" thing worked out....

[popeye the sailor]

thanks John........SUV is still in the shop.......haven't heard anything yet {probably a good thing}.    the hulls are about 22 inches long,  they mimic the Boulogne build at 1:20 scale.   still pretty much in their beginning stages for now.....need to get some flat stock for the decking.

 

hey........you got experience........how are you at making scale fireplaces?   just wondering............ :D

 

thanks for the good word, my friend!

[texxn5]

I just happen to have bricks, mortar and a trowel......send a picture I can build it......what's the scale??? 1:20?????  much easier than 1:64 ......lol.....

[SkerryAmp]

Nice to see the triplets are coming along - really cool watching them grow together like that!   Blinking LED's... niiiiice...  rear admiral?? Congrats!!

 

Man I have to keep up more,  so much goes on when I am out of touch a few days..sheesh!!

[popeye the sailor]

your too cool John.........too cool 

 

{you have a trowel at 1:20 scale........even cooler!}

 

 

your a busy guy Adam........gotta slow down and smell the sawdust............*ach....choo!*......on second thought....don't do that {use a mask}    thanks for the good word!

Edited December 13, 2013 by popeye the sailor

[mtaylor]

Fireplaces????      Not gonna' ask.. just going to wait and see.

[popeye the sailor]

yea.......you know.......'the stockings were hung by the chimney with care.............'

 

....but I won't get into the kerchief and cap thing.............TMI

[keelhauled]

Good lord Popeye! You are a building machine!!!

Do you sleep?

 

Thanks for the entertainment!

 

Marc

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Marc      this part of the build will go slow........I'll be working on other builds while this is going on.  yepper.......it's going to be fun,  especially the scavenger hunt 

[captainbob]

I bet you sleep at night, “while visions of holiday boats dance in your head”.  

[popeye the sailor]

shhhhhhh Bob.....you'll make me break out in verse! :D

[themadchemist]

9 pages before I discover this build. I must be a sleep at the wheel.

Nice project! Can;t wait to see where this all leads.

 

For some reason ..I'm seeing reindeer pulling a boat.  That and a Griswald-esk million lights all over one    and a third called "no room at the inn" with a manger

[popeye the sailor]

those are interesting ideas Keith........the first one has already been decided.   it was the easiest one to come up with,  since it will be based on my initial concept.......the others came about when the ideas began to multiply.   since it is the most obvious,  I will reveal it...no sense keeping everyone in the dark about it.   it will be known as:

 

  the 'Holiday Harbor tree farm'

 

the hull paint concept will be done in red and green.......it will have the pilot house fore,  and an office aft........there will be trees on the deck,  and a tree wrapping table {netting}.   the bulwarks on both sides will have sections removed,  to allow the trees to be brought on and off the boat.......removable railings {cable} will fill in the spans when not in use.   there will be other stuff as well......props will be decided as I go along.   the history for this one,  is a ship that sells trees to nearby town and island ports.

 

the second one is a bit of a toss up........I like the idea of a skating rink.........heck,  the dance floor of the M&M boat came out good,  why not a rink      think of a rectangular area with railings and seats.......maybe a light pole or two.   it does kinda butt heads with the third one,  which I wanted to do a  'caroler's boat'........it could end up being one of these ideas.

 

the third one keeps getting thrown back over to R&D.    I remember a drawing I saw a long time ago......Santa in a dune buggy.  it is an interesting thought........what does Santa do about the places where they don't get snow?   I'm waiting to see what R&D comes up with.

[michael mott]

Interesting concepts Denis, Now skating on a pitching ship could be a bit tricky.

 

Michael

[popeye the sailor]

it reminds me of a sign I once saw Michael    Indian rain dance - Weds nite........{weather permitting} :D

[hexnut]

I've been watching this process with great interest, as you mass-produce hulls, great work!  I just can't help but wonder, since it's a holiday theme, are you going to rename them Goldie, Frankie and Murray?

[popeye the sailor]

interesting name choices for  gold,  frankincense,  and Mir.......but no    I just used Moe, Larry, and the Curly names,  just so everyone can tell the hulls apart,  with little confusion.   if you have looked at the M&M build I did.......in the beginning,   it met with a lot of jocularity that I didn't expect.......I was serious in what I was doing.   this time I'm ready for it,  giving them comical names for the time being......the build will start making sense further into the build.   while this an arena that is not really ventured into,  for a person who is just getting into scratch building,  this is perfect.   it would give the person practice on the freehand principles,  and familiarize themselves for more exact modeling as they move on.  scratch building is an old art......done long before the day of the kit.   back then,  scale classification wasn't even a concern......just an ideal to the individual.   model train was perhaps the last to convert over to scale classification......

strange,  because it was the most important aspect for the hobby.  one person build his train to a certain spec.......another person liked a particular piece,  and bought it........later finding that he could not use it on his layout,  because the scale didn't jive.   but I digress.......

 

there are many well known ships that are modeled today.........I'm sure that there are many others that deserve to be examined and explored.  this would be the first step in going off the beaten path......so,  why not go a little further.  plastic modeling has gone a long way in producing model kits that cover a fictitious subject.....I've done  Rommel's Rod......the beer wagon....the Tijuana taxi,  and a bunch of others......I used to be a major plastic builder       if I had the money I spent......I sit and wonder sometimes.   I think the same can apply to wooden ship.   the last three to four years has been an eye opener for me........I used to look at these kits and think they were way over my head.....not to mention the prices of these kits.  

 

car models are about the only aspect in modeling  {in general}  that dared to go out of the box to any degree.....trains are the second,  with their holiday sets and TV series issues.   there are a few plastic ship kits out there.......the S.S. Minnow,  the Miami Vice speedboat, the Bat Boat......I'm sure there are others........but the wooden ship,  however,  has remained within the guidelines of the replica and other well known subject kits.   this isn't a bad thing,  but I find that this hobby is such an open book,  that I want to explore everything about it,  and see just how far I can go with it.

[trippwj]

Looking good, Denis. Love the concepts - will be fun seeing how each adopts its own personality!

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Wayne.........I can't wait to get them there.   hull planking has begun.......slow,  but it has begun.  

[captainbob]

Popeye,

 

Keep the creative spirit.  This hobby needs people like you.  Michael was talking about design creativity in modeling over in http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4687-building-rational-and-design/ .  I for one love watching you build.

 

Bob

[popeye the sailor]

I thank you very much Bob for saying that......it's kind of humbling.   since the M&M build,  I was thinking about another one.........I found a sort of freedom in doing it.  then to see the look on the admiral's face when I called it done...it made my day     I've had good luck with the first one.......I hope I can pull these off just as well

 

as for Michael.....he's in a league of his own......doing a build of a known style of ship.   but,  in scratch producing the blocks and tackle that this build requires,  takes a lot of knowledge and skill.   what he's doing is pure genius......a real thinking man's build   looking at builds in different scales,  really gives folks a good idea of the different dementions a model can go through.........the larger you go in scale,  the more detail it demands.   thanks for the link,  I'll look into it.

 

rest assured Bob......that if these come as good as the first one......there will surely be another 

[popeye the sailor]

just a quick update........the first hull frame {dubbed Larry}  is about half planked.   I was going to do them one at a time,  but another frame seemed to appear {Curly being impatient},  so I've started on that one as well.   hopefully I have enough planking......I working it in a way,  that I make the most of it....use as much as I can.   I will have some pictures for you soon      Happy Holidays!

[texxn5]

Thanks Popeye, same back at ya....may you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.......I've enjoyed getting to know you this year, and look forward to our continued friendship......Obamacare isn't in my picture.....

[Vivian Galad]

Nice xmas building. Loved the boats´ names. =D Following u in this!

[popeye the sailor]

thank you Vivian....more to come soon.

[popeye the sailor]

I was going to keep the planking pictures to a minimum....................but I have these and I might as well post them.   to give you all a good idea of the surface area.....the hull {give or take} is around 560 mm.

 

the bulwarks are done with four rows of 1.8 x 8 x 720 mm.  this brings them down to the deck line.   from there,  it continues with another four rows of 1.8 x 7 x 550 mm.   these rows will have butt staggers.  as this brings the planking closer to the curvature of the hull,   it will continue with 1.8 x 7 x 720 mm.   since it is close to the curve,  there will be no butt staggering.  this will aide in a clean contour to the hull.  so far,  there are four on the hull frame dubbed Larry.   please pardon the pictures......I did some with no light,  but you'll be able to tell where the different rows start and end.

 

 

 

 

then comes the 1.8 x 7 x 720 mm....I only have one more row on the starboard side,  to equal the four rows.   it will take a few more rows to negotiate the curvature completely.

 

 

 

 

I seemed to have enough of a pause between the plank rows........I brought the frame dubbed Curly out on the table,  and started the second set of rows.

 

 

 

 

with this done,  I may even bring the frame dubbed Moe on the table as well.   it will be interesting with this one......it is completely done in the normal plywood.   sticking pins in the oak plywood isn't too bad, but I'm still bending them under pressure.   I do not want to use brads......I'd be too tempted to pull them out.   I am finding that the planking is not equal in thickness........you probably can see that I have sanded the planked part.   having to do three hulls is going to be a huge task........this will make it just a bit easier.   where it meets at the bow,  the stem will be contoured to match,  and then rounded off.  I hope to have another update soon.   Happy Holidays to one and all!