Faraway

Me too. I blame the weather, can’t really have the heating on all that high, all day, so my work room gets a bit cold. Jon

That’ll more than do. Excellent finish !!! Looks very good, I think you’ve achieved a very worthy result there and should be justly proud. Jon

My feeling is it will be neither quick, nor simple. But I’m thinking it will be outstanding. It’s been many (many) years since I painted a figure, I love watching them come to life under the paint brush, and put them on a small diorama. I shall be watching this with much interest. Jon

Me too, very nice. How about a photo of the whole hull ? Jon

Cornwall Model Boats. https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=caldercraft brass eyelets&PN=caldercraft83505.html#SID=154 Jon

Not long enough, no. I didn’t really plan too well and just sat down and did ‘em. In hindsight I could have made a more detailed job, heyho. Yes there are swivel guns, but they might be fitted later, I’m thinking after the rigging is done. Because, you can guarantee they will get in the way and I’ll knock them off. Jon

Back in August I stopped this build as I was getting a bit frustrated with it, but sufficient time has passed and with no small inspiration from @Bertie McBoatface and his Beagle build, here I go again. So, without further ado here we go............ When I looked at mounting the guns, I realised that all the instructions asked was that they be stuck to the deck. Well, as we all know there was quite a lot of rope tackle that was on the real guns. So in anticipation of this, I bought some brass eyes. Which a plan was to drill holes next to the gun ports and stick these in, I could then thread cotton through. If you've ever tried to drill paper/card, well it is a strange process, but I got there in the end so the first six guns are on. I know there probably should be a bit more rigging on the guns, but this was a fiddle enough for me. Jon

You could perhaps try polishing the copper ? Brasso or Duralit used very gently ? Then test another varnish, not a modelling one, on some spare copper. Maybe stick some masking tape over the copper, a low tack one may be safer. Jon

That is very nice. I do much prefer these ‘Little Ships’ they seem to have more character then the ‘Big Ships’. And they take up less space Jon

Thanks. It was interesting to build something that was a bit different. I’m searching for another Paddler, but they are a bit like hens teeth. Jon

I’d love to do more ‘Paddlers’ but they are a bit thin on the ground (or should I say water) Jon

Cheers. That wake does look quite good doesn’t it. Jon

You know where I am if needs must. Be wary of the wheel house deck railings, they are VERY delicate. Unusually, they don’t have a bottom rail that you would normally glue to the deck, just the stanchions, so I drilled some holes in the deck for them to locate in. Also, the lengths are a bit inaccurate and what is marked on the PE sheet as Port, is actually Starboard. Jon Thanks. I’m very slowly getting the hand of ‘water’ Jon

Thanks Jeff. It did come together in the end, although there were times when I was scratching my head. Jon

And there we have it, all done. Thanks to you all who followed along with this, you keep me sane. Well, saner (is that a word ?) Jon

This was, at times, quite a challenge. Partly because it was cast in resin, so there were a lot of cutting, trimming and sanding. Partly because the instructions were not as good as they could have been, I'm still convinced that the Port & Starboard PE was not correct. And partly because I've never built a Paddle Boat before. Also, the paddle wheels PE was not that good, there is a part that is used to 'feather' the paddle blades so there enter the water at an optimum angle, this part should have 7 arms, but the part supplied had only 6. Despite the instructions showing 7. If this had been my first kit from Neomega, I doubt I would have bought another one. All that said, it has turned out ok. But it is definitely not a kit for the novice. Anyway, on the the build. I used a mix of paints, primarily Colourcoats.... CO3 White NARN23 for the metal deck NARN46 the boiler house and deck fittings CO2 Black NARN44 wheel house deck ACUS27 Green for the hull All other colours were Tamiya Acrylic. The rigging was Infini 0.135 lycra thread, attached to the model with Bobs Buckles Eyelets and copper tube. The base was foam covered with coats of........ First Ammo MIG A.MIG.2204 Slow river water Second .............A.MIG.2202 Lake water Third..................A.MIG.2200 Deep oceans The wake was with AK8036 Water Foam. The mast, not supplied with the kit was a brass one from MASTER Seamaster set SM.350-089. The casting of the deck planks was very good, however I chose to add a real wood deck, which was from MK1 Design 1/350 1mm, the 1mm was determined with help from @Bertie McBoatface as being the nearest size for the scale. The crew were also from Neomega. The name plate was from NAMEIT. Thats quite enough waffle from me, here a couple of photos. Thanks for looking. Jon

Next ? Nothing planned yet, with Christmas looming. And I really should get back to HMS Alert. The squares on the mat are 20mm. Jon

@Bertie McBoatface 81/2" stem to stern. The crew have reported aboard, so now I can concentrate of the base.

Indeed, my ‘palette cleanser’ is my PS4. Jon

Stunning work. Those guns.................. Jon

Yup, I think you are right. Oh, by the way, welcome back to the light. Jon

I've had a couple of days doing other things, sometimes you can have just too much boat building. Anyway, here is the latest progress. This life boat has a deck made from PE, but, the PE doesn't fit. So........ Out with the scissors..... And Roberts your fathers brother...... Back to a slightly larger boat. I'm calling this finished, the next stage will be painting the crew and once they are aboard I'll make the sea base. I've dirtied the deck and added a small amount of rust. As with all the Neomega kits, there is no mast supplied. But I had a spare Master Mast in 1/350, so with a bit snipped off the top and a bit soldered to make an arm for the rigging to suspend the lights, we have a mast. Back soon, once I've done the crew. Jon

I’ve often wondered about building one of these. Should be an interesting follow, so far so good. Jon

Ooooo. A real ship. Jon

Very wise, best to stop if your hearts not in it. Jon