Ahoy from TulsaTulsa

Welcome to the Forums Bern! Glad to have you aboard.

I've been building for 71 of my 77 years and my favorites are WWI & WWII planes followed by sailing ships (as you can see from my avatar). I also build anything else that strikes my fancy at the time and my wallet says OK.  Your post was very interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing your builds. When you start it, don't forget to post it in the "Ships" section of these forums and also add pics as you go. That lets us see how you're doing and better able to answer any questions/problems that you might have.

Soooooooo, sit back, relax, have a few sips of your favorite brew whether it be , ,   or my favorite  and enjoy the hobby. 

Jim  

Welcome to the Forums!

Howdy !

JollyJackTar

So this was the suggested step when I became a member of the forum.

If you follow suggestion's, please take a moment to fill out your "Profile Page". It will help those who follow along later,and is a great way to get to know you better

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JollyJackTar

 I was imediatley drawn in after reading a thread of someone building the same model I am attempting at the moment.  

JollyJackTar

That would be the Constitution!  I'm currently in the earliest possible stages of tackling this 1/96 Revell beast.  

Quite a few of us here have built / destroyed that kit. I myself built it back in 1976 - 77 - 78. Yep ! Three year's it took me ! ( It came out ok but I "shot" it full of bottle rocket's and BB's ) It spent the rest of it's life at the bottom of my 100 gallon fish tank..... (Ironicly it looked better there than it did when I built it !)

Here you will get the Tip's / Advice you will need to build her into a "Masterpiece".... instead of a "Messerschmitt"  L O L !

Welcome to FSM.

Welcome aboard.

Welcome to the forums!  I always welcome by business trips to Tulsa.  Gives me an excuse to visit Top Shelf Models in Owasso!

Thanks for the warm welcome Mr. Fox. And my compliments.   I'm glad to have found this spot, as it seems to be the place to go for any kind of information. 

I've moved ahead quite a bit over the last few days as far as research and tools.  I'll keep my progress posted and probably start posting pics when I get my model in hand.

I have yet to take a visit but I've been planning on 1 as soon as ever I can. I' going out of town for the next week and I've already made the arrabgmets to go visit Top Shelf.  It looks like it' about the best spot in the area for supplies.  They don't have the 1/96 but I'm going to need some new tools any way.  A closer inspection of my sprue cutters has revealed that some meat head used both pair to cut wire..   so.. there's that.  And I have a whole laundry list of other tools I'll be needing.    I plan on spending plenty when I do go.  Apparently there's another shop in OKC that sells hundreds of models.  Toy Base 10.   And he doesn' have prices listed.  You just make the guy an offer and you can get some pretty good deals from him.  

Among my other hobbies is collecting action figures, so you shops like that are always at the top of my list!  

Thanks for the reply! 

Bern 

Toy Base 10?  I’ll have to check them out next time I’m in the OKC area!

Welcome.  Several builds going on in the ship page on her and HMS Victory. well worth going through them as you get time.  Good information on both as well as pitfalls and solutions. As well as details to add or rework.

I have the old Heller 1/100 Victory in the stash, but it is a daunting task and has me wonderingwhy I aquired it.

I have been following several threads regarding this model. And it's cleared up a few questions I had, while giving me quite a few more. And quite a few ideas as to what changes I plan on making to this build. So far it's been really enlightening and super encouraging to see some of the ways the Lads are customizing thier builds.  Furthermore, seeing the changes they are making has confirmed my own research in a few ways.  I had the idea to replace the rigging and dead eyes and blocks and it looks like that is a common thought. 

As to the Heller, That is my tentative long goal.  Finish this Constitution, tackle the Victory next.  But that may take several months to years.  Long enough to keep my eyes peeled for a Heller in my price range.  

Our club president had a Victory at the recent swap meet, checking with him to see if it went, the price was reasonable.  If he has it and concurs, will PM his email and can work out details with him.

You are planning on taking on two of the holy grails of ship building early on, hats off to your ambition.

Might as well start the stash early.

If I told you I wasn't a bit apprehensive.. id be lying.  I am nervous about undertaking the tasks.  However..  my own career, as a Blacksmith and artisan metal worker and the level of detail and finish and complexity of projects I have to do on a daily basis.  It's given me some level of confidence.   I know I'm quite capable of high level craftsmanship and patience.   And I won't ever expand my understanding of these vessels unless I actually take part in constructing them.  I won't ever get to own an actual American 44 or a Nelson era man-o-war.   

So these models are the closest I'll get.  And in my own learning of a trade. 2 trades actually.  I've learned that if someone else can do something.  It can be done.  It may look like poo. But it can by God be done!  

And I'm certainly not trying to project arrogance on my part.  If I have then I've missed the mark.  I'm excited to get to work and nervous about the extent of detail these Grails present.  It's gonna be an interesting ride! 

Also, when I was 8 or 9. I managed to get into our attic at home when my parents weren't looking.  In that musty dark cave.. I found an old revell 1/96 conney.  I was obsessed with it. And I've been wanting to build one since that one was my dad's from the 70's.  He passed away and never finished it.  I kinda feel like it would be a tribute for his memory if I finished it. 

Ah ; Hello Bern . I sure am glad another ship builder is joining us . Welcome aboard . T.B.

So I finally took a trip to top shelf in Owasso yesterday.  I get it now.  The place is fantastic! That guy has more stuff than any other place in Tulsa and I'm sure it's rare around the country.  Tulsa is lucky that way.  We have a comic book shop here that's really similar 

Comic Book Empire of Tulsa has been in business longer than any other comic book shop in the country. So it's the oldest that way. It's also a pure and simple, straight forward comic book shop.  There's no bells and whistles.  There's no figures or sculptures or anime or manga. No (god awful bloody pop vinyl figures) with their lifeless, satanic stare.  

If you're an old school comic collector..  that's where you go for a fix. 

I even liked that the guy was kinda grumpy! He got irritated with some fellow calling him on the phone and laid into him!  And as a curmudgon myself,  I absolutely loved that!! 

Now, onto my next build.  I think I'm going to buy a messerschmitt for practice.  I've not touched a model in 21 or 22.. maybe even 25 years?  And for what I'll wind up paying for that connie..  I think I'm going to bone up a bit on basics.   

I've done my home work and stocked up on tools. I've got a compressor finally and a practically brand new Neo airbrush.   

I don't have glue or paint or a cutting board. And I don't have the 1/4" airline attachments to run from my compressor to a dryer.  But..  my point it, I have taken my time and have been cautious and well planned so far.  I think jumping straight into a huge build after this break would be a mistake.  

Start small on something I don't necessarily have that much invested in. It won't be that catastrophic if I make a mistake. And I can learn a bit more about adhesives and painting techniques before I attempt a giant build.  I want to build the Connie right.  I want to make it as accrate as possible.  I want to build it with the same attention to detail and quality that I put into my blacksmithing and iron mongering.  

But I didn't get where I am with that.. by jumping straight into the deep end.  (Well, I did in a way, but that's another story) but..  to achieve most of the skill I use.  It's taken practice and patience and a build up of its own.    

And the guy had every kind of model you could imagine.  I was at a loss.  I was smitten with his aircraft section and started reasoning myself right into starting with a beautiful messerschmitt kit.   

Anyway, that's my rant.  Thanks for reading.  

Good luck out there 

Bernie

Welcome to FSM Forums.

Your friend, Toshi