Landlubber Mike

I have a 1/200 Bismarck in the stash, and I bought a bunch of Northstar figures for it. Lots of duplicates in the various sets, but they are fairly inexpensive if you can find them. One warning about Northstar - I've had bad experiences ordering from them. First time they told me they sent me "extras" as a gift. Turns out a bunch of the items I ordered they gave me the wrong item and substituted different figures. Then they apologized and said they would send me new ones, so I placed a second order (stupidly) and they never shipped it. So, I definitely wouldn't buy directly from them.

These I believe were from Ion Models - I bought them on eBay and from Freetime Hobbies. I also have figures from Tori Factory (bought from eBay - they came from Korea I believe) and Pro Studio (same thing). They are resin and pretty easy to detach from the plugs, and come in many different poses. I also have figures from Northstar - they stink! Much bigger than the figures from the other companies, and worse yet, they are printed way too close on the same plug so it's almost impossible to paint and remove them without busting them.

Thank you Gus, really appreciate the kind words

If you'd like, sure. I'm very flattered that you would ask, there are a lot of incredible modelers here!

Pics of the real thing and some of the construction:

Some detail pics:

Hey guys, seeing @KevinM's beautiful Chikuma build lit a fire under me to finish my first 1/350 ship. Base kit is from Hasegawa, supplemented by the amazing Infini upgrade kit and some other aftermarket. A really fun build and I'm glad I put it into a diorama setting.

Ugh, thanks for that info Ernie. I also have the HpH Me410 - is that any better?

I switched over to Swann Morton too. Much better blades, and the blade holder/handle is better as well.

I haven't participated in a GB before, but would try it out especially if it's a "it gets wet" build. I have a bunch of seaplanes in the stash, and just happened to score an HpH Walrus the other day. I'd probably start something easier than the HpH Walrus - I have the 1/48 Airfix Walrus with the Neomega catapult set) and a bunch others in 1/48 like the Goose, Catalina, Ju52 with floats, F1M2 Pete, etc. Anyway, whenever you guys want to start is cool with me. I sorta work on models and then get bored and move on, so this would cause me to be a little more focused on a single subject if others are progressing on their builds.

Looking amazing Sasha!!

Beautiful paint job, wow! I've done a few yellow wings and had enough of a hard time. Couldn't imagine trying to spray an entire plane in that color. Great work!

Ben, another stunner! Your diorama builds are absolutely incredible. Always a good level of detail an interest to keep the eye moving and make you feel like you are there.

Rog, that is an epic post for this thread! Good luck with your builds! My wife similarly would be giving me the evil eye if I didn't have a chance to sneak all those boxes into the basement before she saw them. 🤫

Ben, sorry I didn't see this earlier, wow! What an amazing build and diorama! And I know this particular Revival kit isn't the easiest to build, at least from what I've read. If you don't mind me asking, what paint did you use? It looks really spot on. I like this version with the four rear tires. I have the kit and only thought it built up with four tires total, but I'm looking at the directions online and it shows the six-tire option as well. Love the figures too by the way and the diorama base, what a great touch!

That came out really great! Nice job! That must be massive!

Looks great Peter! Nice and smooth!

Peter and Rob, many thanks for answering my question about the booth. For what you get, the booths seem inordinately expensive. Rob, I was thinking about doing something similar - really, all you need is a plastic box with a hole cut out, and those LED lights are a nice touch (mine includes the lights). I might also try opening up one of the side panels and attaching an extension to see if that works. Either that, or ultimately get something like the one Peter shows. Even 30" seems a bit too small for some of the bigger builds. I have ship models that will exceed that - the 1/200 Bismarck on the shelf is something like 4-5' long For those very big builds, I might get one of those pop-up spray booths and use it outdoors or in my detached garage.

Looks great Peter - exciting step to get to in the build just before the primer goes on. One question I've been meaning to ask - for these larger models/larger scale builds, do you spray in a spray booth? My booth with exhaust is probably 20 inches or so wide, which limits what can be put in the booth. Since I like to use Mr. Surfacer and other paints on the stinkier side, I'm curious what set up you guys use to paint bigger models?

Wow, that last picture is amazing - insane amount of rigging detail. Gives you a real appreciation for how complicated these old ships were.

Wow, that case is beautiful Scott!! Can you make me one? 🤗 I'm looking into some kind of display/storage option for my plastic models but not really finding much besides bookshelves. I'm not sure my wife would appreciate something with glass doors. If you want to reduce the size of your model, you can always just build the hull and skip the masting and rigging. Also, like plastic models, you can always just go smaller in scale. Once I get through my current stash of wooden kits, I was thinking about modeling in miniature scales. Here is one from Donald McNarry, who is a true master when it comes to modeling wooden ships in small scales. This clipper is 32' = 1", and for idea of size that works out to, the display case is only 14.5" x 9.5" x 6.875" 😳 https://www.shipmodel.com/acadp_listings/spindrift/ By the way, the view outside your house is incredible. I'm jealous!

I know some people use compressed air to try to blow the dust off, but I'd be so nervous doing that around the rigging or small parts. If anything isn't fully adhered to the model, you could quickly ruin it. Your detail work is amazing - very nicely done! Even more impressive that it's scratch built! Can I ask what scale you built it in?

I have three wooden ships in process at the moment (well, haven't really touched them in a year or two because I got sucked into plastic). Space is definitely a consideration. I think what I'm going to do is try to either sell them, or more likely, just donate them to a local library, a school, etc. I'm more into the journey in building models, not really looking to turn my house into a museum - and I'm sure my wife feels similarly 😆

A lot of people put them in glass/plexiglass cases. But, that becomes a very expensive add-on to the end of the build. I put my first (and only) completed ship in a plexiglass/wood display case, and it looks like the day I finished it, but the cost was painful. Probably in the end cost 2-3 times what I paid for the kit 😳 You should totally try one out. It's a different method of building than obviously plastic builds, but I think having the cross experience will serve you well. Personally, I like the wooden ships in that you are working in many materials - wood, metal, rigging line, cloth, etc.

Holy cow, that's amazing! Even more so given that you scratch built it, wow! Your sail work is fantastic - personally, I think adding sails is a great choice for these types of subjects, especially on clipper ships.