Landlubber Mike

Thanks for the kind words Peter. I feel like I'm still very much an amateur. You should see some of the work posted on MSW - there are some world class artists there.

Couldn't agree more about the techniques crossing model types. I certainly will approach some of my wooden models differently after learning techniques from the plastic side. I'd really love to sometime build a weathered wooden fishing or Dutch commercial vessel in a waterline diorama setting.

Thanks for your thoughts Rob. When I first picked up the Badger kit, I was starting from square one - had no clue about tools, adhesives and other materials, paints and finishes, etc. Also, it had been close to 30 years since small plastic kits I did as a kid, so I didn't fully appreciate more complicated modeling techniques like jigs, etc. I read a few of the beginner books out there, but thank God for the internet! I'd be lost without the help from kind-hearted fellow modelers. With all your skills and experience, you'll be able to jump right in and go to work. I hear you on the larger vessels. Ship modeling involves a lot of repetitive tasks - in some ways you can get in a groove and it's therapeutic in a way, while in others, building yet another cannon and rigging it with 2mm blocks gets old quickly. Can't wait to see your work! Good luck with the build!

Thanks Mike, really appreciate it.

I thought Peter Jackson pulled the plug. He's sorta THE key player as he's the funding source.

That Felixstowe looks incredible, wow! I see work like this and it makes me think about hanging up my airbrush for good.

Thanks Peter. This has been a good learning experience and a fun build. I've got the fuselage assembled and the paint coat down. I need to blur the demarcation between the two colors, and then can start the weathering and final assembly.

Rob, many thanks for the kind words. The Duchess looks like a really fantastic kit! With your modeling skills and experience building the kutter, I think you should be completely fine. I'm building Chris' Pegasus kit (from Amati) and it goes together very nicely. That was the next ship after the Badger that I did (Badger being my first), and I was such a novice at the beginning, and in many respects still am, but I think it came out ok. The wood ships are fun, and I started back in modeling with wood ships because of the variety of materials (wood, string, cloth, metal, etc.) you can use. You can really bring woods to life with oils and other finishes. On my current builds I'm "painting with wood" and using woods like ebony, yellow heart, redheart, paduak, holly, etc. to represent the colors in lieu of painting. Plus, I had memories of painting plastic models with those Testor's enamels. I didn't want to do models where I just put it together in a couple of days, slapped a coat of paint, and called it done. Of course, I came to realize that kits changed a ton since I was a kid, and with things like airbrushes, new paints and finishes, PE and resin aftermarket, etc. Now I'm more into plastic than wood, but mostly because I'm more interested in the subjects. What's been cool is learning techniques from one type of modeling that I can now apply to the other and vice versa. It's been interesting seeing that even in the plastic world, there are techniques that plane modelers use that ship and car modelers tend not to, and that car modelers use versus plane and ship modelers, etc., but the techniques can be helpful across modeling subjects. Personally, I think 1/64 scale is a good one. The Badger is probably a good 20" from end to end, and probably about that in height. Long story, but I was going to work on a larger ship with I think 24 cannons that was in a 1/70 kit. I was going to convert it to its sister ship to do something different, but the kit hull was the wrong proportions and I couldn't make it work without a ton of effort. So, I decided that eventually I will scratch build it. It was a fairly good size at 1/70, but I took the plans for the ship that I purchased from the National Royal Maritime Museum and printed them out at 1/48 scale. Huge difference in size! 1/48 is a scale that a lot of scratch modelers work in, but for a big warship, you are talking a lot of bench space. I have three other wooden kits in various stages at the moment. Once I get through the stash, I'd like to scratch build some. I'd probably look to do them in smaller scales though. I'm just about finished with a 1/700 IJN destroyer, and have really enjoyed working with small scales. I like the old Dutch ships, but if I can get the carving down, I'd love to build the 1693 HMS Sussex at 1/100 or even smaller scale - the ornamentation is really beautiful: Anyway, sorry to ramble on. Looking forward to watching you work on your Duchess!

Thanks Peter. They do take longer for sure, but like other models, it usually depends on the subject, how much extra detail you put in, etc. Some ships like the Victory take people upwards of 3-5+ years - and that's for people with a lot of modeling time on their hands. If you did smaller craft though, you could knock those out in a few months. Like anything else, it takes a bit of time learning how to work the material, use different tools, etc. What's really impressive to me are people who find some plans and scratch build their ships - even building every last cannon, bolt, etc. Those people blow my mind with the kind of work that is possible.

I haven't used it, but my guess is like Gorilla Glue, you shouldn't put it in your hair...

Looking great Bill. This is one of my favorite of the Wingnut subjects - love the bird aspect! Now I just need to find someone looking to part with a kit...

Hang in there - TJTX, at least you have the smoker in the clear

Harv, get well soon!

Those are really nice looking. A little wider than the Hobbyzone ones I picked up and thus can hold more bottles. You can buy a base for the Hobbyzone one which I use to hold taller bottles, and I have them sitting on one of their open space modules where I have my bigger bottles of paints - Tamiya spray cans, jars of Zero Paints, etc.

Those look nice Carl. I was searching for some paint racks and this didn't come up in my search. I ended up getting a few from Hobbyzone along with their stand racks and really like them. Do the Ammo ones you bought have some kind of base in case you aren't going to mount them on the wall?

All I meant was how many models are lying behind the front of the shelves? I have gotten creative in my shelving - looks like I have fewer kits than I actually do

I use Vallejo Air a lot. I love the convenience, no smell, easy clean up, etc. The problem I found is that they tend to gum up the airbrush, and in particular, their primers. I found adding the Vallejo thinner to the cup in the recommended amount helps a lot. At the end of the spraying session, I'll also open up the tip of the airbrush and clean out the nozzle and needle. Another problem is that sometimes, the adherence to metal is not the greatest. So, if you're taping, sometimes the paint will lift up off of the metal parts no matter how long you let the paint cure. I've gone to mostly using Mr. Surfacer and Tamiya as primers on larger items like fuselages, and then spray Vallejo on top. On my current FM-1 build, I primed with Mr. Surfacer, sprayed the underside with Tamiya Insignia White from the rattle can, and then sprayed the topside with Dark Gull Gray color using Vallejo Air. The rest of the parts of the plane (props, wheels, landing gear, etc.) are all Vallejo - primer, color, etc. I've also used their Vallejo Metal Color line and really liked it (you can see my F3F-1 and F3F-2 pictures on the non-LSM forum). I sprayed the Gloss Black primer (use their Thinner), and then the Metal Color on top. Quick cleanup, no smells, and color looks great.

Some impressive stashes here. For some, I wonder how deep they are. Frontal appearances can be deceiving!

For me it's the 1/200 Trumpeter Bismarck. Not me, but random picture I found on the internet to show box size.

Wow, perfect fit on the nose there Ernie, great job!

Great start Ernie! Lots of cosmetic surgery there

I'm pretty sure I ordered some hard to find aftermarket a few months ago from them and had no problems.

Nice! Looking forward to watching you pull off that paint scheme!

Good to know Carl. Any recommended places to find them? HLJ?

Holy cow! I didn't want to stray into any new subjects of models like Star Wars, but man, I might have to reconsider after seeing the pictures above.