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Reply To: Pop Up

Richard Simpson — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 11:09:06 +0000

Its back again!! ARE THEY TRYING TO FINISH THIS FORUM OFF!

Reply To: Spring 25 as featured in Howards Way from the 1980’s

Richard Simpson — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:29:53 +0000

I thought there must be a way. The step in the transom looks like it covers them but that must just be the angle of the picture.

Reply To: Pop Up

Richard Simpson — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 19:56:14 +0000

It seems to have disappeared again. Fingers crossed its permanent!

Reply To: Spurn Light Vessel

Richard Simpson — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 19:55:16 +0000

Gareth, as you know Alan and Margaret were both stalwarts of the Kirklees club for many years. Alan was a stunning model maker but, you are right, he always made pristine models, even scale ones. Margaret was a formidable lady and held the committee together for as long as I can remember and further back. Sadly Kirklees is seriously struggling nowadays and doesn’t attend away events nor do a great deal in the way of home events any more. It will be interesting to see what next years calendar looks like.

I remember the Cadma shows well and meeting you there on a couple of occasions. It was a good show and I really enjoyed it.

Reply To: Spurn Light Vessel

Richard Simpson — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 19:50:11 +0000

I think of all the tasks that we can get involved with in the process of building our models weathering and adding detail are the two parts I enjoy the most. Even brand new vessels straight out of a yard or those that have been meticulously looked after not only have those slight tell tale signs of use but, more importantly I use weathering techniques to make things look that little bit more realistic and sometimes just compensate for the effects of lighting or scale.

As an example I have put together a very old kit of the QE2 this year and particularly decided to make it a pristine glass case model. I did notice though when I painted the insides of the lifeboats that they looked quite bland and lacked definition. To enhance the detail I simply added a very light spot of a brown wash inside each one. The shadows were enhanced and the detail stood out that bit better. Whether that would be considered as weathering I don’t know. Whatever I build I always look for ways in which I can make it look closer to the real thing in any way I can think of.

Old coasters of course had a hard life and so weathering plays a bigger part in such builds. Then the challenge is to not overdo it and to try to aim for realism as much as possible. Preferably by referring to suitable period pictures, wherever possible.

These are some of the shots of Ben Ain that I was able to collect over the years:

And this was my attempt at getting somewhere close to it:

Reply To: Spring 25 as featured in Howards Way from the 1980’s

Ray Wood 3 — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 13:21:28 +0000

Hi Richard,

Yes they are the cockpit floor is removable 🙂

Regards Ray

Reply To: Pop Up

Colin Bishop — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 13:15:30 +0000

Yes, it’s really infuriating as is the popup which obscures the bottom of the screen when you are trying to read posts.

Colin

Reply To: Spurn Light Vessel

Colin Bishop — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 13:12:01 +0000

Whether to weather is a purely personal choice. Most vessels are in a pristine state when they leave the builders, even tugs and fishing boats. Many are actually kept in near pristine condition such as the small fishing boats you see in Greece.

I always like to show my models at their best but I also admire models with carefully applied weathering as well, they are just not my thing though.

Colin

Reply To: Spurn Light Vessel

Gareth Jones — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 11:57:18 +0000

I have started planking Spurn’s hull with 3 mm thick and 10 mm wide cedar planks. I am using Gorilla white water resistant wood glue. I pre-bend the front 12 inches or so and bend and twist the aft 12 inches or so of each plank. Prior to bending I soak the end of the planks by holding them upright over the kitchen sink and trickling about a litre of near boiling water from the kettle down the plank. I then quickly clamp the plank to a large saucepan to bend it or into two vices to twist it.

When nearly dry the planks are glued in place and secured by an assortment of strong rubber bands and assorted clamps and bulldog clips. Three done on each side so far, about another 50 or so to go in total. The first plank on each side is at deck level and is located by a series of panel pins pushed into the frames and the plank edge butted up against them so that there is a fair sheer line along the hull.

Reply To: Spurn Light Vessel

Gareth Jones — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 11:03:05 +0000

That looks a nice bit of weathering there Richard. I always prefer to see weathered models myself and I remember a rather embarrassing moment at the CADMA show some years back. After the demise of Tom Gorman it was decided to ask one of the clubs to provide judges for that years show and Goole volunteered me and my wife as I had done the judging course at Haydock Park. On the Kirklees stand was a beautiful small tug built by Alan Wyatt who you probably remember was a very skilled modeller and good friend to us. All his models were absolutely pristine and in the discussion with Elizabeth I commented that it was an excellent model but just too clean and tidy to represent a working boat. Alan was not there at the time but his wife was, un-noticed to us, sitting behind the stand. I looked up and saw her, obviously very annoyed by my remark. She didn’t speak to us for the rest of the show but we did make it up eventually.