Well my Dad's birthday is Wednesday and I have his present all finished. As finished as I can get it. I have much more respect for you ship builders out there as this was my first model built in 25 or 30 years and my first ship to boot. Man does my craftsmanship suck. My first attempt with PE is somewhat disastrous but I have rails up and some ladders. This was Iron Shipwrights Laffey post FRAM with some kitbashing from Tamiya's Fletcher plus some scratch build.
I am glad my 74 year old Dad doesn't see as well as he used to. :)
Thanks to Ed and others who passed along some wisdom along the way.
Im not sure how to post images on these forums so here is a link to a pic. (Notice how it's not big enough for you pro's to see my flaws. lol)
http://www.digitaloutcomes.com/Collett.jpg