Working on the forward cabin hatch and installed the fighting chair. I decided to use my scratch built one, (because I clear coated, with high gloss, the kit version chair and decided I didn’t like it) I prefer the matte finish.
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Hello all .. On the shelf I have the Winchelsea, Swan class Echo complete with,four David Antscherl;s books, presently working on a cross section 1/48 Victory in pear, and the Solano train ferry in 1/160 scale,, The last thing I needed was another project,but bought the PILAR. I am building it in 1/18 scale with wood and fittings upgrades, Plan to get Ernie reincarnated by Herb;s figures.. Glad there is so much interest in this boat. Anyone who is interested in my previous builds, can view my video done at our local Art center. It is in the international shows thread on SOS. Thanks again to Jimsky for taking the time to post it. I;m a technomoron, so that was greatly appreciated. I also donated two ships for auction. Proceeds to Downtown Art Cellar for their THRIVE project.. Maybe do a ship build seminar next summer as there is some interest. Happy shipbuilding! John Coryea ( Manning16)
i am contemplating contacting nauticurso In brazil to see if they have different parts then american made model
Ricardo at Model Expo may be able to help,but he's in brazil right now.
First another heads up, I have been working on the front of the boat trim etc and ran into an issue part #109 the longer trim piece on top of the forward roof. The two trim pieces (long and short one) are labeled #108 and #109 which I found together on two laser cut sheets see image. I also found another #109 on a third sheet but those two #109 are much larger and would never fit. So I’m not sure yet where they will go and what part number they really are, but when I do I’ll post it.
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Now here is the progress on the front of the boat. I also added two trim pieces, front and rear of the roof. Hardly noticeable but in person it completes the green roof, also the real Pilar has them. 
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Starting on the roof, here’s what I have so far.
Using small jig to solder center support in the rails.
Using small jig to solder center support in the rails.
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Me to Herb, are you going to have some figures in scale for this boat? I think I would like to add
They are coming…there will be a big unveiling. Not sure when…but there will be some.
Thank you sir
I guess I'm going to redo my rails to match the real Pilar rails. The instructions in the kit, as you can see, show them rounded at both ends but you can see in the photos they are straight at the helm end with a vertical support.
Excellent work! Shaping up quite nicely. Good detail work in noticing the rail difference.
folks, I think (for me) this was challenging, the roof helm assembly must be (scratch built) what I mean is the instructions are pictures of what part numbers to use and basic assembly. However there are no measurements or even a 1:1 Birds Eye view for location of the roof items. So the starting point for me were the extension tubes from lower console to the upper console. I figured if I got those located correctly I could glue on the roof, and the rest of the parts location should be easier to establish. Here’s where I’m at.
Slow going but made some progress today, I figured out where to drill the holes for the rails, glued on the rail feet got the rails in place ( not glued yet ) started on the extra rail supports to match the real boat (thanks Herb for the tips), the X in front and the two middle rail side supports.
I think I'm going to paint my rails black. From these pictures it does look like they used Black pipe with various connecters to build it. The pictures from the box and instructions show silver, but I don't see silver in any of the pics I've seen. Any advise or opinions welcome.
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Historically I don’t know: did they use steel or galvanized steel pipes and paint them black? Being a boat owner I would say that they must have painted them, but I don’t know if they had aluminum or stainless steel at that time. Interesting question.
Hey Grex! Your Pilar is looking great. Congrats on your build to-date. I don't think you'd be bad either way regarding the pipe color, but in many of these pictures, the pipes look black/dark to me. Perhaps it's the camera angle. I recall reading somewhere that the Pilar on display in Cuba may not be exactly how it looked during Hemingway's time, if you are shooting for that representation.
The rails look darker to me (almost to a black), as well.
Here are a few pictures that you may already be familiar with. Ignore the arrows on the last picture, as they are pointing out some pole configurations when you get to that point, but some of the pole and rail colors can be viewed, as well.
The rails look darker to me (almost to a black), as well.
Here are a few pictures that you may already be familiar with. Ignore the arrows on the last picture, as they are pointing out some pole configurations when you get to that point, but some of the pole and rail colors can be viewed, as well.
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