Bandsaw Steve

Welcome aboard!

Yes I can see them. Am looking forward to seeing this come together; something a bit different. For a museum?

What a great summary. I am always slightly miffed when when the narrative goes ‘The USA dropped the atom bombs and so Japan surrendered’. There was a lot more than just that going on, and such a simplistic summary essentially dismisses the importance of Commonwealth, Chinese, Soviet and other nation’s efforts as well as the enormous power & importance of US conventional forces. I have read that at the time the Emperor did not fully understand the impact of America’s ‘new bomb’ but fully and immediately understood what war with the Soviet Union meant!

Despite your reservations I think this is a great-looking model of a challenging subject; definitely not one for the bin!

Spectacular, as always! great and inspiring work.

Good call @Bertie McBoatface. Rest up and come back refreshed.

A ‘Normal’ Person!?!? I’m not sure there’s any such animal. And if there is such a thing, you won’t find it here!

Sixty years! Wow! That’s nearly as old as your Fairey Monoplane!

Congratulations to all involved in your bunfight victory; especially to @Bertie McBoatface who dreamed up this idea in the first place and worked hard to keep it front and centre. I am really looking forward to seeing what comes of this one!

nice! These are a favourite type of mine.

Ditto!

Lovely work @Norman. I take it that’s HMS Pandora on display in the background of the last photo? That one also looks like an outstanding model.

Thanks mate. I think so too! It doesn’t need to be a solemn ceremony or anything too complicated or involved, just a mention in a conversation or a letter to a local newspaper or a post on-line can remind us that, wherever we live, there are always stories that add local interest and colour.

Anniversary Some of you may be aware that I'm a bit of a sucker for an anniversary. Right this moment 9:40 PM on 13 Nov 2022 WA standard time it will be 150 years - to the minute - since Xantho cast off at Port Gregory on her final voyage. To my knowledge this anniversary will go completely unmarked. In fact, I suspect that even the staff at the Maritime Museum might not have noticed it. Consequently, the weight of commemorating the first ever attempt to use a powered vessel to export mineral product from this state falls on my shoulders. I have held off hitting the 'submit' button here on BM until this very moment to mark the occasion. To put the importance of this event in context... Xantho sank under the weight of 83 tonnes of lead ore. In calendar year 2021 Western Australia shipped 844 million tonnes of iron ore worth $137 billion Australian dollars. The total value of all minerals produced was $211 billion Australian dollars. https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/western-australias-economy-and-international-trade#:~:text=The value of Western Australia's,per cent to %24231.5 billion. So despite the fact that Charles Broadhurst had bad luck that night 150 years ago, he was certainly onto an idea that was going to become a very big thing in the future of this state. So what progress have I made on this model of his little ship? Here's where I was up to at the end of the last post. Some work on the decks was due. Here I'm using a needle and an incra-rule to scribe a series of equi-distant and parallel lines to represent deck planking. This process was remarkably easy and can be recommended as a satisfactory way to produce a good starting point for a fairly convincing looking deck. I think you can all see where this is going... and I've done something similar over the poop deck. The four rather prominent wash-ports along the side of the vessel need to be cut out, although in retrospect I might have been better off cutting these before I glued the bulwarks in place. In any case it was nothing too difficult. I just bored some 'easer holes' though the bulwarks then used a razor and some dymo tape to fully delinate each hole, the cleared out the hole with a fine chisel. Here she is with the decks and some preliminary cut-outs of the hatches loosely fitted. And here she is with - yet another - layer of primer applied. Don't worry about the very roughly formed masts. At this point they are just there to give a bit more of a 'visual impression' of what the ship will look like when complete. So there we have it! SS Xantho 150 years on. Gone but not forgotten. I might have a swift glass of port to mark her passing. Best Regards, Bandsaw Steve.

That is a truely super supermarine!

Personally- I would hesitate to go that far!

That’s a rather brilliant idea as -yes - I think there are ‘synergies’ between the two concepts.

Yep! As far as I’m aware that pretty-well sums it up. I think I’ll be looking to post my idea in about four or five months. Keep your eyes peeled entropy folks and be ready to sign up with extreme enthusiasm!

Excellent information and advice all taken on board.

No need! It’s kinda cute and it does share some visual aspects of the 1999 universe.

Ditto!

FWIW - you got my vote a few days ago. I really want to see this one go ahead!

No, not a scratchbuild GB. Much more inclusive than that. I’ve noticed that, generally speaking, broad and inclusive topics do well in the bunfight. The idea is a genuine theme but - just like ‘Entropy’ - it could include practically anyone or anything. I’m not sure about two things: 1, How much work is involved in running one of these things? 2, Is it a good idea (or not) to float a new proposal during the bunfight? Any thoughts welcome.

Not at the moment, but I’m seriously considering floating what I think is a highly original idea for the 2023 bunfight. If that happens I will be sweating profusely and will greatly appreciate any support the folks here might provide.

Entropy is currently on 48 votes and well above the red line so there’s reason for optimism I think.