ALABAMA is done

 looks mighty impressive.

Very, very nice!

Any chance of getting a shot or two that shows the whole profile? I, for one, am curious to see all the rigging and the rake on the masts.

Also, I noticed that BJ does not seem to be offering the plans which I would be interested in getting a copy of, and what's on the CD that you are offering?

And last, are the guns manufactured in house, or are they sub-contracted?

Full shots coming soon.  Plans will be offered, as they are with all our kits. Be aware that there are no hull lines on the plans because it is a POB construction. The CD has over a hundred assembly progress photos and close-ups.

The guns are done in-house.  Each pivot gun is made of wood, photo etched brass and cast Britannia metal, and has about 25 pieces for you to assemble.

Looking forward to the pics.

WOAH!!! 

Great work!

Eagle90

Beautiful!!!! Is this the old Revell kit?

This is a new, plank-on-bulkhead wood kit from Bluejacket - which doesn't make plastic kits. I suspect there's little resemblance between this one and the old Revell kit, which was loaded with inaccuracies.

The Bluejacket one costs over $700 - not unreasonable, but too rich for my blood at the moment.

No, this is an entirely new POB wooden kit.

That looks like it is going to be one fine kit.  Glad to see a new POB offering from BJM.

And Kearsarge in the works.

As much as I'd love an accurate Kearsarge, anywhere near $700 is out of the question. I hope Bluejacket knows its fan base. Sorry to say, I can wait.

Ahhhhhh, high end stuff... Well it sure is beautiful.

Fantastic work sir!  

I have to say that I think Blue Jacket does indeed know its fan base, or they wouldn't be posting here.*

*[this was an unsolicited endorsement from an avid fan]

Well ;

    In this case you do " gets what you pays for " . I have bought their kits for some time now . Well actually others have bought them for me , on and for Birthdays and Christmas .

    I will say there was a time I could afford to buy when I wanted to . I can't now .Besides I have to stick with subjects that have no spars . That way they can be put on shelves 6" maximum in my room . I have a 1/96 Arleigh Burke that is taking up a lot of that room right now too ! I build a lot of their smaller craft for friends .They buy them , And I am the guy that gets the enjoyment of building an outstanding product .

      As to the ALABAMA - Thanks AL ! She's a fine looking ship .

Al Ross;

   You Make me sick ! Literally sick !  Why , Well look at all the beautiful ships you get to play with and the tools in the shop to do it with and you do such a damn good job too . I was a little upset with you when you did a Gearing FRAM .Why ? well I started out on commissions on just that kind of ship .

     Plain and simple I am extremely jealous of you for having the job I wanted to have years ago ! So do me a favor Please ? Keep up the good work and the nice ships coming down the hawse to us , okay ? Tanker - Builder

Well, thank you.  It's been a fun 20 or so years; might have a few more to go.  Putting out these kits is definitely a joint effort.  BJ has a couple wizards in the casting and laser areas that make my job a whole lot easier.

Al Ross

Al;

No doubt your days are very busy, but could I urge you again to post some profile pics. If you are as prone to senior moments as I am, this may have slipped your mind.

Nope, mind is still there (sorta)... :-}.  We're going to do the neutral backdrop photo session of the finished model Monday or Tuesday.  Nic or I will put up some overall shots then.

Al

Al,

Are the rails for the swivel and bow guns going to be available as a separate item one of these days? I would love to pick some up.

Steve

By rails do you mean the curved tracks on the deck?  Those are part of the photo-etched fret, so you would have to buy the entire fret.

It looks magnificent, Al. Congratulations.

One small question. The topsail yards are in their raised positions (with no sails), while the topgallant and royal yards are lowered. What was the basis of that decision?

One other question. Did this ship ever carry sails on the fore and main lower yards? It's tough to imagine what they looked like - and I don't think I've ever seen a picture of her with courses set.

The last time that old Revell kit was reissued (by Revell Germany), the instruction book included some photos of a finished model that apparently had been built by somebody who didn't understand how sailing ships work. Revell included vac-formed topsails and topgallants. This idiot had put the topsails on the lower yards and the topgallants on the topsail yards. Looked utterly ridiculous. But the Revell version was from a different planet in the universe of ship modeling than this beautiful Bluejacket offering.l

That's what you get when a steel navy guy (me) does a stick and string model... :-}  Topsail yard is on a truss.  The drawings and some of the paintings in Bowcock's book show a sail on the fore lower yard, but not on the main.

Al;

Thanks for posting the pics, which I got a very short glimpse of before they disappeared from the postings.

?????

Can you re-post them please.?

Maybe the 2.0 improved ones are on the way!

Al,

It is a very beautiful model and yes I would be more than willing to purchase e entire fret of PE. Is it available on the BlueJacket site?

Steve

No.  It's more of a special request thing.  You might call Nic (the owner) at 1-800-448-5567 and see what he can do.  The existing frets are all earmarked for the kits, so it might be a bit before they are available for purchase.  BJ is closed tomorrow (blizzard's acomin') but will be open probably sometime Wednesday.

AL ;

  Is there any way I can get a whole set of pictures of the GEARING - FRAM ? I am to busy to build one and too broke to buy B.J.s . Oh , howcome ya'll didn't install the spars " Acock-Bill " like they used to when in port ? You do know why they did that don't you ?