crazypoet

I like that jig - it's an approach that just makes sense, but that I'd never have thought of.

I do have both the B-17 and a wooden sailing ship (solid hull, designed for beginners). I have some more advanced/higher skill level kits in 1:48 as well - are those appropriate?

So a few small updates... first, the boat. It's done (though these pics don't have the stack rigging - need to get pics of that still). The torpedo and gun are rigged, mast is up... Done. I'm happy with the work and all the extras I added in along the way. So here's the state of things as they sit for the moment... The boat... Spar Torpedo rigging A bit of ash and cinders from the firebox... Toolbox (they spent the day prepping for their mission, so I imagine the engineer doing a bit of tuning and preventive maintenance... Gun furniture hung in easy reach So what in blue blazes am I up to now???? Seriously - this thing should be done and in a display case, for chrissakes! Well, I just can't seem to leave well-enough alone. There are more details left to finish the story. The right tools - what would a small boat such as this have carried as a matter of course, along with those "extras" needed for some specific documented activities... you saw the Saw in-progress above. Next of course is a coal shovel... I had a pair of doll-house scale white metal shovels that were truly bad. I spent a day trying to work up a better version in plasticard, but I still need to work on my 3-d folding skills... so instead, I decided to do a bit of surgery and correct the shovel I had on-hand... First, getting rid of the rather ridiculously thick handle... Much filing and head-scratching later... the shovel blade is *much* closer to scale dimensions, and I've worked out the bits needed for assembly. As I don't have any 1/16" wood dowel on hand, the handle is aluminum tube, with brass rod to tie it all together. I drilled the blade's handle socket to accept the brass rod, then threaded the handle pieces onto the rod and added a few strategic drops of CA gel. A bit of sanding and primer and it's starting to take shape... Still need to finish finish painting the handle - got a bit done tonight, but it still needs a few touches to look like well-used wood... Meanwhile, I've been working out a few other tools - saw (wood and plasticard), pry-bar (brass wire), caulking hammer (all aluminum tube), sledgehammer (from 1:35 tank maintenance set), valve key (brass) All of these still need a bit of touch-up, and I *still* need to make the appropriate spanners and a ball-peen hammer. So what else needs doing? Hmmm... wood and canvas for the box they put around the engine as a muffler. I'll actually use a bit of coarse silk, as the weave is very close to 1:24 scale canvas/sailcloth. Maybe a nail keg as well. I need to finish painting and detailing a wood bucket for up-front (wood staves and copper banding to eliminate sparks around the gun) and a metal bucket for the back. Rigging the anchor - still need to work that out) and hanging the flag. Oh, right, lest I forget... Oil bottles and cans. They used whale oil for both lubrication and lamps. I'll have one or two oil cans floating around, and at least one bottle. I'll probably pass on the lamps though as this is daytime and any lamps they may have had would have been stowed. I'm adding in some odd sacks and barrels of provisions - barrels of salt pork, hard tack and drinking water. Maybe a flour sack, sea bags and foraging bags. Somewhere along the line I need to shell out for a dry-transfer decal kit, so I can do some of the needed graphics - labels on bottles and stencils on boxes. They'll have to go naked for the time-being... Then, lastly, building and adding an open ammo box full of Canister rounds, adding some coal and firewood in the bins and building the base to display the whole glorious mess! I am using a 15x24" bit of board for the base. It will have a map of Albemarle Sound as the main feature, with some iron plate and wood decking boards as details. I had the title plate done up at Shapeways, based on an HO scale building sign. It worked perfectly for this application. So, yeah, still a bit of work to go!

I'll dig through the stash... i think i NG I have a 1:48 B17 as well as some boats that might fit the bill

That engine is lovely!

Nothing like a bit of the original to add life and a touch of gravitas... nice!

Agreed - great job on the paint!

So I'm hoarding pics of the boat for the moment, but I wanted to give an idea about some of what I'm up to... One of the things that that was happening on the morning of October 27th, as the crew of Picket Boat One were preparing for their mission, was the construction of a "wood and canvas box" to muffle the sound of the engine valves as they passed near Confederate lookouts on the approach to Plymouth... This implies a couple of things, not least of which is the presence of a saw. I found pictures of Civil-War period Henry Disston hand saws on eBay and couldn't resist trying to capture at least the fundamental of the shapes. Original Saws: so here I've sketched the handle design on a bit of 1/32" wood and started cutting it out... After cutting out the handle, and stiffening it a bit with CA, I had to split it through the thickness of the board to accommodate the blade... Finishing the cut and adding a blade cut from .010 poly sheet: Blade finished with Tamiya Weathering Powders in gunmetal and silver I still need to rivet the handle and blade together - I'll do that tomorrow. This is why these last few steps are taking so long...

I know the feeling when "Mr Stupid" makes an appearance! I've entertained him at my bench far more often than I care to admit... Thanks for sharing your processes, warts and all - it continues to inspire us mere mortals.

Short update - no pics yet, but they're coming... I found (finally!) a source for the flags I need, along with some nice accessories from Shapeways - buckets, bottles and suchlike. They are arriving in bits and drabs, and all need some attention in the spray booth before making their debut. The boat itself? It's complete save four mast stays which I'll finish when the Albion micro-tube for the turnbuckles arrives. I'll post pics as soon as I get those done... I'm starting work on the display base. I'd originally considered putting it "in the water" in a diorama, but came up with a different approach. I'm hoping that it works out as nicely as what I have in my head. You'll have to wait a day or three for pics though, as I'm waiting for some critical bits to show up in the mail. Face-palm moment: I thought I'd go cheap and use a bit of melamine shelf as the foundation for the base. Wrong! Nothing on the planet sticks to that stuff, excepting some fairly hard-to-find exotic glues. So back to the lumber store to get a proper bit of board... penny-wise, pound foolish strikes again!

I love this project - particularly how you managed to fit all those wires into limited space... nicely done!

Beer can in da house! This is great work, and I'm loving the ability to stare over your virtual shoulder...

That looks like a fun build!

Beautifully done! Looking at this from the viewpoint of a bomber crewman, you got it real enough to be scary - which is as it should be.

Nicely done!

Nice work on this. I feel like I could crawl around the interior and not find a thing missing or out of place

That engine mount was major surgery- nicely done. Also the PE adds beautiful details that you really don't catch until looking at the before/after shots

Sweeet!

Had a bit of time early this morning, so I was able to complete the furniture for the howitzer. I also revisited that caulking hammer. I did the hammer in aluminum tube rather than the heat-shrink thing I tried earlier. I found that it worked better this way, as I don' even have heat-shrink small enough. I still need to paint the thing, but that's a project for tomorrow. The gun furniture was fairly straightforward. The only headache was getting the screw right. I ended up using fine music wire turned around a drill bit. The swab head is part of a q-tip soaked in CA for body and touched up with Tamiya weathering powders. Meanwhile, I found a scale hammer in an old 1:35 tank crew set. It works perfectly for this application. Still scratching my head on a set of spanners though.

I love the Jug! This is beautifully done, and your photography catches and highlights All the work you've done. Your finish is dead-on, with just the right touch of fading and weathering. me like.

I've enjoyed watching this build! It's an interesting subject and I like your approach

this is *gorgeous* - have fun!

Tools and fittings... i'm doing the last few details - which will likely stretch out another month as I pull bits and pices from all over... the boat itself is essentially complete, waiting only to mount the mast and finish the rigging of the stack and torpedo. The source I *thought* I had for turnbuckles and a replacement Flag proved to be a bust, so I'm now having to wait on both. Meanwhile, though, she is kinda pretty... What remain are the finishing details that complete the "story". Tools, stores - the odds and ends that speak to what was happening, that busy morning of October 27, 1864... So. Here's the start on some of them - caulking hammer and caulking irons... I found a beautiful photo for reference a couple of weeks ago. Today, I started prototyping my version using a bit of 1/16" dowel and layers of heat-shrink tube. This first version is both about 50% over-sized and a bit clunky in proportion, but it shows that the idea itself is sound. I'll scale it down a bit and get it done, along with a few other bits and pieces, over the weekend. With this project reaching the stage where it's all fiddlly details and oddments, I can actually shift the main body off the workbench to make room for a certain Grumman for the Resin build...

I watched this through each step along the way - adequate. Quite extraordinarily adequate work. this is is a jewel

I'll echo what's already been said - you've captured her beautifully!