Modelik Flower class corvette

[Jim Krauzlis]

Masterful job, Chris! So, how close to finishing her are you now? I'd say it's pretty darn there, now that the masting and rigging is going up.

Really a splendid job...and I know you are going to treat us to more photos, right?:grin:

Cheers!
Jim

 

[Gil]

First Class Work!

Chris,

It's a pleasure to view your work. Your experience really shows.

The meat skewers are made from bamboo which has over 1200 varieties. I have these on hand not only in the kitchen but also in the shop. They have a thousand different uses. Well stocked asian stores will also carry the smaller sized ones that are used to spear fruit chunks in foo-foo drinks.

An old way to taper a shaft was to use the edge of a piece of broken glass to scrape the shaft. It really works well and requires no sharpening of this "disposal scraper blade"...,

-Gil

 

[cdcoyle]

Launch!

This is no April Fool's joke...she is actually DONE! I left off a few details at the end. I omitted the crow's nest, as a picture of Agassiz early in her career shows her without one. I also left off the signal halliards, as they are almost impossible to get to hang correctly (the radio aerial was bad enough...I didn't want to multiply that 8-times over). This hastily made photo shows her on the only large, light-colored, monotone surface I could find in the house (more pics to follow). I notice there is a bit of glare off some of the rigging -- it is monofilament line, and in some places the blackening process leaves an uncovered side that is sometimes noticeable if viewed from a certain angle. The stand is made from leftover laminate flooring and square stock. Both ends of the square stock pieces have wire extensions to help better secure the model to the base. There is distinct drag in the ship's keel, so the aft blocks are 1/2" shorter than the front ones.

Enjoy!

 

[cdcoyle]

Aft quarter.

 

[cdcoyle]

Details of the fore mast rigging. Also, a lesson in careful scrutinization of diagrams, coupled with completely thinking through a build step. There's a bracket that holds the foremast to the forecastle. The mast must be inserted through this bracket. Of course, I noticed this after I had all the other mast bands on. So you will notice, upon careful examination, that this Agassiz has a modified mast bracket. :roll:

 

[cdcoyle]

Observations from this build, in no particular order:

1) If Agassiz is any indicator, Modelik makes some wonderful kits.

2) I am not intimidated by any kit now!!

3) That said, I don't recommend skipping from two- or three-star difficulty kits directly to five-star. The learning curve can be apparent in the work.

4) I really like 1/100 scale, even if detail sets are not available in that scale. The large size really allows for a lot of extra detailing, if the modeler is so inclined.

5) The people at cardmodels.net are great cheerleaders. Thank you, all!

6) Thank goodness there was no hedgehog on the early Flowers!

7) I wish Modelik had chosen one of the Western Approaches color schemes.

8.) No matter one's feelings on the EU, at least Poland's membership means that Modelik kits will now have English instructions.

9) And because Agassiz had no such instructions, acquiring the Anatomy of the Ship volume on her is a must for anyone wanting to get this model right.

10) How many airplane models did Carl build in the eight months it took me to build Agassiz?

11) The kit cost less than $14, and I bought one additional bottle of CA during the build. Everything else I had on hand. For value, card modeling can't be beat!

BTW, for anyone wanting to know what I will do for an encore, I will be taking a hiatus from card modeling and returning to my partially-built wooden model of the English sloop-of-war HMS Fly 1776. Progress on that model can be seen at drydockmodels.com.

Regards,

 

[Mark_1984]

A superb model, and I really enjoyed reading the build thread. Thanks

 

[Amazyah]

Thanks for sharing your experience in building this model with all of us, Chris!
It has been a most enjoyable ride to accompany you on!

Great build thread and learning experience for all! Kudos!

Russell

 

[cdcoyle]

And here's Agassiz's proud new owner. As I said previously, this build was done for a friend who teaches language arts at our middle school (that's him on the left). He will be teaching a unit on Nicholas Monsarrat's The Cruel Sea. So, each year about 60 eighth-graders will learn the fascinating history of the North Atlantic convoy routes and the men who served on these little men-of-war.

Regards,

 

[rlwhitt]

Chris,

This is an outstanding build and your skill has shown through brilliantly! I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this one and hope you will come back and honor us again after your "wood" vacation!

Rick

 

[barry]

Been real fun to watch beautiful job brought back a lot of memories

 

[B-Manic]

Great build - and a very generous contribution - I commend you.

 

[Clashster]

Great job, Chris! Definately a favorite thread of mine! Such beautiful detail work. Thanks!

Chris

 

[eibwarrior]

Wonderful, wonderful job Chris. You have a great model on your hands.

This will be a great teaching aide for those students. Very detailed and done with a great level of craftsman ship.

You taught me a thing or two. I've really enjoyed this build.

WELL DONE!

 

[Jim Krauzlis]

Brilliant job, Chris...and a very noble act in donating it to your friend! He has to be a very happy camper, such an excellent ship model!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching your progress on this build, which was an extremely informative and entertaining thread...hope you'll treat us with another build thread for your next project!

Cheers!
Jim

 

[cdcoyle]

Thanks, all. Of course, I have an ulterior motive for making such donations. I'm always hoping that I'll get at least one of the little munchkins steered away from skateboards and video games and interested in models, along with the history that goes with them. Many folks are surprised to hear that although I teach science, I read history, and military history is to me the most interesting, since the pressure cooker of conflict brings out the very best and very worst of human behavior. I hope my models might whet the appetite of some future historian.

Regards,

 

[Teamski]

I got the 1:200 scale version of the ship. I have to say that it must be impossible to build. As mentioned elsewhere, it is simply a scaled down 1:100 scale version. With all of the pieces so small, I can't see anybody making this without simplifying it in some way. Has anybody attempted the 1:200 scale version yet??

-Ski

 

[Teamski]

A photo to show just how small the parts are..... :cry:

-Ski

 

[papastumpy]

I second that, 1:200. I have the 1:100 version and just look at, must be a zillion parts, just kidding, but any smaller is out of the question for me. I am looking forward to this build at this scale.:thumb:

 

[jkrenzer]

I agree, I bought the 1/200 and know I won't even attempt to build it. I have seen the 1/00 in Poland, none available in US to my knowledge. I would love to build this kit in 1/200. However, the last plastic kit I have built was 3 years ago and was Revell's 1/72 Flower and it really is an awesome model. But i would not suggest we all go back to plastic, however it builds like a paper kit with tons of parts. I built the rails one pole at a time then added the horizontal bars.