Keeping Records of Builds

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Oct 19, 2018
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Pawley's Island, SC
Does anyone besides me keep a record of all of their model builds? I began building model ship in the late 70s and early 80s. At the time I would take a photo of a model that I had built but not a digital photo. These photos were keep in a box or album and of course never looked at again. Then when digital cameras came out I started taking photos and storing them on my computer but never in a logical order or place. Then some time after I retired I developed a file in Word to keep a record of all of the models that I had built. Going back to the 70s and 80s was difficult but I did what I could. This record has now grown to 142 pages and 188 photos all in one place. I usually tell some of the story of the ship/boat, scale, building techniques, etc. I also created a web site on WIX.com to store this file and other build logs. I am just interested in knowing if I am the only one who does this or are there others and how you are recording builds.
 
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I'm intrigued as to their destinations - what the hell do you do with 188 ships? I'm guessing single or a remarkably compliant admiral? :cool:
That is 188 photos. Not near that many ships/boats. It is over 40 years and I still have the first one. Some have been given away so not all of them are still with me. Compliant General. Air force didn't have admirals.
 
Since I have only one ship completed, the finished build log is on this forum and on MSW. All 1,383 photos of the La Couronne build are available on the IMGBB link in signature section below. In case the forum logs are wiped out, I saved a backup. Other modeler's build logs are a treasure trove of knowledge and inspiration.
 
Does anyone besides me keep a record of all of their model builds? I began building model ship in the late 70s and early 80s. At the time I would take a photo of a model that I had built but not a digital photo. These photos were keep in a box or album and of course never looked at again. Then when digital cameras came out I started taking photos and storing them on my computer but never in a logical order or place. Then some time after I retired I developed a file in Word to keep a record of all of the models that I had built. Going back to the 70s and 80s was difficult but I did what I could. This record has now grown to 142 pages and 188 photos all in one place. I usually tell some of the story of the ship/boat, scale, building techniques, etc. I also created a web site on WIX.com to store this file and other build logs. I am just interested in knowing if I am the only one who does this or are there others and how you are recording builds.
That sure is a LOT of pages. I hope you have devised a cool naming convention and naming folders that will enable you to find pics quickly! You know, you could develop a database, attach photos and make it all searchable! Could be something to do on those retirement days with nothing to do.
 
That sure is a LOT of pages. I hope you have devised a cool naming convention and naming folders that will enable you to find pics quickly! You know, you could develop a database, attach photos and make it all searchable! Could be something to do on those retirement days with nothing to do.
Thanks for the comments Philski. I don't have a problem keeping busy between exercise, model building, pen turning and all sorts of other projects. I just wanted to keep a record of my model building. My report has a table of contents and a list of figures so I can readily find them.
 
I start a new notebook for each build and mainly record constructions details that I think I can use in the future. When the model is done the notebook and plans go into a folder which goes into a cardboard file box. I now have two boxes filled with this information, and must admit I almost never go back to look at any of it.
 
I take pictures with a point and shoot digital camera. Then transfer them to my computer. I have a folder for each model or modeling subject. After transferring the picture to the computer, they usually wind up in the standard "My Pictures" folder , so I move them into the folder I want them in.
I wind up with a pictorial history of the build making them easy to find and use for posting on SOS and other sites, printing or e-mailing to anyone. I keep a back up on a flash drive.
After storing a couple thousand pictures on Photo Bucket a few years back, only to have them charge an exorbitant fee later for the use of the site, then locking out the use of pictures already posted (my old posts are still there, but with no pictures). I don't trust any of those services anymore, although I do use "IMGUR" has a hosting site for sites that do not allow direct posting of pictures. I had hundreds of pictures posted on a ship picture site that went belly up too. I'm glad I kept copies of all those pics on my hard drive and backup.
You can also do "slide shows" of your stored pictures using Microsoft Power Point. I do that at my aircraft carrier reunions. 5 or 6 hundred pictures of the ship and related stuff, in random, showing for 45 seconds each, in a continuous loop. I use a rented projector and my laptop that has the Powerpoint show plugged into it from a flash drive with the show loaded on it. The guys love to sit in groups in the hospitality room with a beer and watch them.
 
I have digital photos of most of my builds...usually in connection with forum postings...but, to my frustration, not at all organized. One day I need to figure out how to create separate albums and move the photos around...someday...maybe...
 
I take pictures with a point and shoot digital camera. Then transfer them to my computer. I have a folder for each model or modeling subject. After transferring the picture to the computer, they usually wind up in the standard "My Pictures" folder , so I move them into the folder I want them in.
I wind up with a pictorial history of the build making them easy to find and use for posting on SOS and other sites, printing or e-mailing to anyone. I keep a back up on a flash drive.
After storing a couple thousand pictures on Photo Bucket a few years back, only to have them charge an exorbitant fee later for the use of the site, then locking out the use of pictures already posted (my old posts are still there, but with no pictures). I don't trust any of those services anymore, although I do use "IMGUR" has a hosting site for sites that do not allow direct posting of pictures. I had hundreds of pictures posted on a ship picture site that went belly up too. I'm glad I kept copies of all those pics on my hard drive and backup.
You can also do "slide shows" of your stored pictures using Microsoft Power Point. I do that at my aircraft carrier reunions. 5 or 6 hundred pictures of the ship and related stuff, in random, showing for 45 seconds each, in a continuous loop. I use a rented projector and my laptop that has the Powerpoint show plugged into it from a flash drive with the show loaded on it. The guys love to sit in groups in the hospitality room with a beer and watch them.
I loved using Powerpoint when I was working but had not thought about using it for my models. Thanks for the input. I have a backup external drive to store many things that I want to keep. Much cheaper than service.
 
I have been keeping records since 1971, recording 144 models done. The majority of these are in bottles and are therefore less time consuming than cased models, though there are 6 in this total. The record keeping became a little more organized in the late 1980s when I started noting down hours worked in an engagement calendar. This way I would have something of a realistic idea how long a project might take, how much to charge and what to tell whoever was waiting for the completed work when they might expect to see it. At the end of the year I total up the hours and summarize the year's successes and disappointments. Photographic records became much easier with digital cameras and in many cases, useful in documenting the stages of a model's progress.
 
Does anyone besides me keep a record of all of their model builds? I began building model ship in the late 70s and early 80s. At the time I would take a photo of a model that I had built but not a digital photo. These photos were keep in a box or album and of course never looked at again. Then when digital cameras came out I started taking photos and storing them on my computer but never in a logical order or place. Then some time after I retired I developed a file in Word to keep a record of all of the models that I had built. Going back to the 70s and 80s was difficult but I did what I could. This record has now grown to 142 pages and 188 photos all in one place. I usually tell some of the story of the ship/boat, scale, building techniques, etc. I also created a web site on WIX.com to store this file and other build logs. I am just interested in knowing if I am the only one who does this or are there others and how you are recording builds.
Hallo @Pawley
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
 
I have been keeping records, like you, since 1971, though my document is only 66 pages long now. Many of the models, especially the early ones, were very simple and didn't call for much comment. I usually make an entry when a model is completed, noting name, scale and issues encountered during the building. Of greatest importance, to me, is recording date begun and finished and the total hours that went into the model. This became important when selling models, since the time devoted to a model is the most valuable asset and therefore the most important determination of the price. It also gives me a realistic idea how long a project might take if asked how soon it might be expected and at what cost. When a model is sold I go back in and note the date, price and circumstances.
Photography, especially since digital photography, has been much more important. I was inspired by the late George Pinter, who gave a presentation at a conference documenting techniques by photographing steps in a process and all the tools and materials involved. This became more important to me after I started teaching. So I have created a file for each project, even a number that don't get far beyond the planning stage, and I try to add to the file as the model progresses. There are about 120 such files in that folder on my computer.IMG_6883.JPG
There is certainly a personal aspect to the photography. Though I intend to fairly record all the stages of a project, rarely is it photographed when the desk is a mess and the work is not going well. Instead, I'm much more likely to bring out the camera when suddenly all looks great and the coming results are quite promising. There is no doubt which moments I prefer to remember.
 
I did notice this post today, and it does have an interesting subject.

Donnie or Zolly99, any chance this subject gets moved to up a level with a listing under helps, so we can all talk and discuss better ways to track, organize, save and display our photos and build info?
 
I have done videos from my still pictures of the models that I have made. I post them to friends and family on Facebook to show what I have been up to. My last one (MS Whaleboat) got posted to YouTube and then shared on Facebook.

My most recent build is being planned in a Google Sheets workbook in a step-by-step manner. At the end I will have a record of each step that went into planning and constructing the build. I don't record the number of hours that I have worked on each step because I don't want to know! I would use MS Excel for the spreadsheet, but it lacks an essential function (the Array function) that I am using to build the Gantt chart for the build. I keep all kinds of information on different sheets in the file, such as rigging sizes and checklists of rigging to do and rigging completed.

Here's a link to the post I made about using the spreadsheet for the final stages of a build. https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/project-management-using-google-sheets.10371/
 
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