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ZHL San Felipe - JM

Joined
Feb 3, 2025
Messages
7
Points
43

Hi everyone, I've relied on this community quite a bit for my first build, so I thought I'd start contributing with a build log. I've always enjoyed looking at ship models, so I thought I'd just jump into one that caught my eye. I appreciate any advice and criticism. I've been building this ship for almost a year now, and I suspect it won't be done for at least another year, so I apologize in advance for slow updates! I'm quite intimidated by rigging, so I might be stalling subcontiously . I also have a new son that seems to consume any semblance of "free time". Enjoy!

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Hi,

It's a very beautiful piece of work; the lines are precise and the adjustment of the various decorative elements is excellent.
It's truly beautiful work, you can see it was executed with meticulous attention to detail. I'm sure you'll manage the rigging very well.

Keep up the good work, I'll be following your progress.

Have a nice day.
 
Hi,

It's a very beautiful piece of work; the lines are precise and the adjustment of the various decorative elements is excellent.
It's truly beautiful work, you can see it was executed with meticulous attention to detail. I'm sure you'll manage the rigging very well.

Keep up the good work, I'll be following your progress.

Have a nice day.
You're far too kind, thank you! It's been a journey. I really look at this as a reflection of my time and money committed. Being new to the hobby, I never move on until it looks as close to perfect as is feasible. I've finally had some time lately to move the build along, so I plan on some regular updates.
 
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One thing I've enjoyed about this build is fact that if I get burned out from the repetition of doing one thing, there's always something else I can jump to.

I decided to add tree nails to the wales on the ship. I couldn't really find a cheap usable material online or locally that would work for tree nails, so I ended up soaking toothpicks in a plastic bag of very dark wood stain over night.

I made a template for the spacing of the tree nails and drilled the holes with a 1mm bit. Dabbed the tips of the toothpicks in some glue and pushed them into the holes. Then I clipped the excess off and sanded them flat. I like the result, though, I think I will leave the toothpicks to fully dry since some of the wood stain has squeezed out into the adjacent wale wood.

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