I had never thought of documenting a build but, having read all the antipodean adventures, I changed my mind about telling the world about my amateur antics.

I started this build a few weeks ago but did not have access to a picky machine until this week.

The general idea is to build this tiny model using just general rubbish and whatever I can purchase advantageously or even scrounge !

Firstly, I found a load of bits of 5mm ply in a skip that I cut up into the frames and keel. The stringers were made from some scrap from a local window maker ( not upvc ones ). The frames and stringers were assembled along the lines of ELLIE to give me a nice skeleton.

In my room of rubbish, I dug out a load of woven glass roving that I cut into sections that I could stretch over the frames and secure with staples.

Having covered the entire hull like a tissue covering on a plane, a liberal coat of reconstituted resin was applied and left to harden. Very little sagging occurred and it took only a small tin of Poundstretcher body filler to build it up and sand to a good shape. A few coats of primer and a bit of ply decking got me to my present stage.

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More soon

It's been a busy day at the pond today so I haven't done much in the workshop/kitchen.

All that happened was tidying up some of the scraps of ply that I found, printing out the cabin sides and sticking them to the ply ready for cutting out with the trusty hatchet !

More –

Just checked my bank balance ! EEEEAK !! I'll have to sack some workers and go to a skeleton staff.

A shame as I was just about to trial fit the cabin sides.

Just to keep Paul happy, I have gone out and purchased a Stanley knife so that my tool kit is up to his standards !

I could just about afford it after buying all the 4" nails for the deck.

Now it is starting to look like something is happening.

I have started making up the cabin and will have to make a few adjustments to the deck as at the moment, it falls into the hull.

I haven't a clue what to do about it but not to worry, I'll think of something.

There's very little that a bit of polyfilla wont sort out !

And maybe a few bits of 2 x 1  as well ( that's 25 x 50 for the younger viewers )

Edited By lnvisibleman on 15/04/2014 19:00:38

Now I have a real problem !!!!

There is nothing worse than a model boat scudding around with no-one on board, just a disaster waiting to happen !

Dear Mr. Smeed drew his plans at 3/4" to 1ft and that is the size that I am ATTEMPTING to make however there seems to be a major problem here.

Where oh where does one obtain 1?16 scale figures to crew the beast? OK, I could have no end of various soldiers on board, or even half naked fantasy maidens, but not a single NORMAL person has shown their face on the interweb no matter where I search, or even who with !

Can any of the more knowledgeable chaps or chapesses on here point me in the right direction ? It would be a shame to have her moored up at the quay without a crew to take her for a spin.

He's not an easy guy to contact, not even a website ! And very little comes up when he's googled.

I already have my skeleton crew as seen in earlier photos but was hoping to find something more suitable and ready made as my sculpting skills are notable by their absence !

It looks like it might be a fruitless task, or maybe I am destined to have my boat crewed by semi-clad maidens from another world !!

Oh dear, what a shame !!

Mike