Hemingway's Pilar by General Nuisance

[BigBad]

I’ve reviewed the old photos you guys posted and ya know what- like any boat, over the years our boats are continuously maintained, renovated, upgraded etc, just like my 28 y/o Boston Whaler is. So as we look back it seems that things changed. Of course they did. So I guess that: if we want to be super accurate where do we go? Do we want exactly to know how she looked at launch or how she looked at some point in time? Anyway, I’m very appreciative of the info and photos because it gives me a very good idea of how she looked and what she was

 

[BigBad]

And she’s looking good and is gonna be super

 

[MisterCA]

Got the initial sanding done (what? Sure I cheat and use an electric sander but what’s that to you?) now for the start of the planking.
View attachment 644136

Cat tax included.

Inspector Kitty definitely not approving!

 

[GeneralNuisance]

I’ve reviewed the old photos you guys posted and ya know what- like any boat, over the years our boats are continuously maintained, renovated, upgraded etc, just like my 28 y/o Boston Whaler is. So as we look back it seems that things changed. Of course they did. So I guess that: if we want to be super accurate where do we go? Do we want exactly to know how she looked at launch or how she looked at some point in time? Anyway, I’m very appreciative of the info and photos because it gives me a very good idea of how she looked and what she was

A piece of advice someone gave me as I started working on Shackleton’s Endurance is that when it comes to accuracy it’s about picking a time in the boat’s life and emulating that.

These are/were working ships and they weren’t made purely to be pretty, they were made to do a job.

As someone who volunteers on a tall ship over the summer I see that even more now.

 

[GeneralNuisance]

Hey Punchie, I can’t thank you enough for the photos- they’ve solved several questions about the cabin arrangements I’ve been wondering about. The Pilar instructions and so-called instructive photos in the kit from MS is very poor about the cabin set up and if you ask me as a fisherman I kinda know what I would want even in 1938 so I’m improvising. Anyway if you look at photos over time there were modifications and

This is my third or fourth MS build and honestly their instructions suck.
Occre, to date, has the higher quality in both their ships and instructions.

 

[GeneralNuisance]

Much to my chagrin I have to admit I’ve never actually read Hemingway since high school so I’m taking the opportunity now while working on this boat to change that.

Completed
The Big Two Hearted

In Progress:
The Old Man and the Sea

Let me tell you, Old Man hits different when you’re not being forced to read it.

Anyway, got one segment of planking done and I’m happy to say this is my best planking job I’ve done on any of my builds so far, it will require a lot less wood filler and planing than previous builds that’s for sure.

 

[manning16]

Hello all-- General , thanks for the Pilar pics..am building her in 1/18 scale.. from what I've researched, he ordered her without frills, with utility in mind. Wood was apparently Fir and mahogany... good pic of the stern deck shows what appears to be mahogany, so I;ll go with that..anything green was canvas ..to your point on accuracy, I see pics of inside roof painted white, others , natural..stern painted yellowish, other pics, mahogany..so it;s our choice.. I have a fair amount of Cuban mahogany that hurricane Ian graciously provided me , so I will be using that, I can mill up what I need. The cabin exterior and interior look like mahogany veneer, as I see no evidence of planking. , so basically using pictures. I agree, the MS plans are terrible

 

[GeneralNuisance]

Some updates as I go, ran into some trouble in the instructions because when it comes to the forward bulkhead I’m not totally sure where to put it whether sitting on or in front of the lower section. The instructions are about as clear as mud.
Grex did his on top in his build but I almost looks like it’s supposed to sit in front based on the slight lip I’m seeing in the instructions.



I guess I’ll wait till the glue dries on the other bulkheads and see what looks better as I put the siding in.

Speaking of the siding my favorite strategy for getting perpendicular glue jobs straight is to repurpose some of my legos, a trick I learned from someone somewhere.



Anyway, still working on the planking and getting everything closer to finishing the initial layering. Cleanup and profiling to come later especially as I’m noting the forward keel looks different on the real ship when compared to the model’s instructions.

 

[Grex110]

GN,
You maybe right about the front bulkhead, if I remember correctly I wasn’t sure either, I think before glueing it I used the cabin top/roof as a guide. I placed it position and then decided where to place it. Also, look at the opening for the cabin assembly into the hull, with the trim on top, mine fits perfectly into the opening. If I would have glued in front of the floor like it looks like in the picture, it would have been too long. However, I may have just built it all wrong. I’ll be watching to see how you do it. .

PS. I use legos too…..

 

[BigBad]

I finished planking the hull and the cabin interior and am working on the cabin roof. My mistake in installing the forward bulkhead was that I should have trimmed the bottom of the forward bulkhead after dry fitting it so it would be level with the other two bulkheads, now it’s slightly higher than the other two. It’s about 1/16 to 1/8 inch higher and noticeable looking at the side view. But a strip of molding should help disguise it by eliminating the slight visible gap at the forward end of the cabin. I would advise using a straightedge to make sure that the forward bulkhead is level with the others.
Also, I screwed up by installing the cabin roof supports before completing all the interior cabin furniture and staining and painting. I was able to install all the furniture and paint and stain the cabin interior through the roof supports and rear opening (very carefully lol). Came out really nice.
Another mistake was that following the instructions the helm chair is illustrated below the fighting chair and I didn’t realize what it was. It’s not labeled as the helm chair. I thought it was something that came later in the build. It’s not even mentioned in the instructions. So I had to make a helm chair. Came out fine but a lot of wasted time.
Adding the cabin roof requires putting pressure on the entire roof panel so it conforms to the rounded shape of the roof supports. If I added the roof items before gluing down the roof panel it would be difficult to get the right curve without damaging the rooftop structures (I used CA glue and held the roof panel down with both hands. But my mistake is that I installed the grating before painting the roof panel. Now I have to slide a paintbrush or Q tip under the grating to paint the area under the grate.
Oh well…

 

[BigBad]

I made the helm chair from scratch as well as a shelf (I put it on the cabin wall to the right of the door. I cut some thin brass tubing and painted it white to simulate rolls of nautical charts that I’ll place on top of the shelf and the helm station cabinet.
I’m not sure how I’m going to line up and install the brass rod that goes from the rooftop steering column down into the cabin helm station but I’ll figure something out later.
The photo shows two helm chairs- I used the bigger one because it’s more to scale.
I just keep screwing up

 

[BigBad]

I made the helm chair from scratch as well as a shelf (I put it on the cabin wall to the right of the door. I cut some thin brass tubing and painted it white to simulate rolls of nautical charts that I’ll place on top of the shelf and the helm station cabinet.
I’m not sure how I’m going to line up and install the brass rod that goes from the rooftop steering column down into the cabin helm station but I’ll figure something out later.
The photo shows two helm chairs- I used the bigger one because it’s more to scale.
I just keep screwing up lol.

 

[BigBad]

Side view of cabin and cabin roof showing mistakes with front bulkhead and cabin roof.

 

[GeneralNuisance]

So some updates as it’s been a couple days.
I’ve reached a dead end in terms of interior prep work I can multitask on while working on the outer hull.



A dry fit of the binnacle gives me some ideas as for changes I want to make when it comes to the wheel.


As seen in Punchie’s pic the wheel is further to the right, closer to the door.


And as seen in Grex’s build we can see the wheel is more centered in the model. .


Solution? I’m thinking of moving the wheel slightly in my build to reflect the real ship more accurately. It also looks like I’ll be attempting to emulate the leather covering on the helmsman’s seat. I may use tissue paper for this purpose since it’s such a small area but I’ll be doing some tests to see how that will look.

One additional note for today, I decided to add another layer of planking to the benches in order to hide the edges which just don’t look good to me. I may do the same for the binnacle but that’s another “we’ll see.” I know these modifications are all but insignificant at this scale but I think it will really adds that extra touch.


In some other news I’ll be making my way into northern Michigan this coming week so I’ll be taking some time off from modeling and instead roaming around home/Hemingway’s old stomping grounds.

Wandering around Petoskey, MI with some fresh eyes and a newfound appreciation for the history of the man should provide an interesting experience and speaking of history…



I spent some time today paddling around in Lake Michigan where I was able to get a close up look at the 1882 wreck, The City of Green Bay. She went down during a storm and took five of her crew with her. She’s since drifted into the shallows where on especially calm days you can get real close and personal.

Until the next update…