Well Done Men!!!!! Love this website!!!!!!
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Excellent workmanship Nick! Coming along beautifully!
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Whoa!!! Awesome stuff! Tasks for posting this Ed! I have to up my game!
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Good Morning Gang!
Fate would sequester me in my shop and with a sudden late day rush of adrenaline that carried me into the night I decided to tackle my own wood deck for the tug.

I used a rapid method that had always worked for me and was very much a trial and error experiment when I started building models way back in the day. Over time I found this type of work rewarding, especially when it is even moderately successful. I suspect it is not new to you all.
In the end the dimensions are pretty scale for a 1:32 boat, but the actual result is shall we say, stand-off scale. Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't. Let's see.

First I traced the deck plan onto some brown paper over foam core and put that on a board and set it aside. I then took a mountain of 1/8" x 1/8" x 36" balsa strip and tightly pinned them onto another piece of foam core. Out came the spray paint and I hit the exposed side of the balsa strips with a flat black. The hope being that it will mimic the tar/pitch seams of the deck boards.
Once dry I and got to pinning them on the plan; which now had wax paper over it.

And we're off to the races..every 4 or 5 boards I'd run some thin CA on the seams and move on. Once I got going I couldn't stop. Why you may ask? 1) because I was motivated to push through and 2) because my oldest daughter was using the main floor of the house (and all the wifi we had) doing a live radio play online. She's an actress.
In essence, I was banished to my shop not to be heard from for 2 hours.
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I used the time wisely, I think. I used every minute of that two hours.

When fully cured I will sand it smooth and scribe the deck with faux plank joins and nail holes and then stain it. I think the magic worked this time. I'll take a breather for a day and start to plan out my next moves. Well, actually I have to get my daughter back to New York City, cut the grass and watch the Masters.
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Chug!
I have some New York Central decals set aside somewhere! 😉

Well my friends, I've gone and done it again.
Through some dumb luck I stumbled upon a reasonably priced discontinued bucket-list kit that I've always had my eyes on and took the plunge. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while! The Dumas Brooklyn Tug was one of their best kits and much to my surprise it came with a very strong set of directions...unusual for Dumas in my humble opinion.

Be that as it may, it's a large (40 inches) and quite a beautiful kit. The version I was lucky enough to find was the final version before Dumas dropped it. The first version (I understand) from way back in the day was meant to be a plank- on-frame build. But it seems Dumas felt it would not sell well, not to mention the wood production problems it would incur. So they engineered a fiberglass hull that became highly prized to builders. My version is the last version with a PVC hull.

The hull is nice, but the two hull molds come with a ton of excess PVC and feel like wobbly bathtub parts coming out of the box. Very worrisome to start, as cutting the mold flanges away was not a simple task, no to mention Bondo and a ton of sanding...yes, with mask on and vacuum at the ready.
Next came a heavy inner fiberglass keel inlay, an addition PVC skeg support. Then an outer long false keel is installed with the stuffing box installation...more Bondo and sanding. Uggh.

Worrisome or not, the instructions have a tongue-and-cheek feel about them as the writer and engineers slip in comments like "no need to worry" and "now don't panic!"
Sheesh!!!!

So, after a couple of days of bitching and worry I managed to get the two halves joined and on the stand.
The next issue is the PVC deck with the basswood supports. The joining of these two deck halves was not the "issue," but the total lack of wood decking aggravated me. I want a more scale appearance, so I have to have a planked deck! As a result of my own needs I lowered the deck supports 1/8th of an inch to accommodate my planking. I did a scale deck test shot to get an idea of what I'm after.

Believe or not, the PVC hull will not be fully "true" until you squeeze the deck halves with the bass cross-members into it.
I know, it's weird.
So I will trace the deck shape onto paper and do my planking as a side project to begin this weekend. Call me crazy, but my instinct is pushing me in that direction. I am going to give it a go.

My wife, Mary is like, "Where are you going to put that one?" "In the water!" I shoot back, "then on the mantle, because it's going to be a like museum scale!" Don't you get it?" I think she's glad I have this hobby...it keeps me from pestering her for other things.
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Onwards and upwards and more to follow.

Best -- Guy

Whoa! Awesome Start Nick!!!!!
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Thanks so much for the enjoyment of letting us follow this build Alessandro! Tis' a Beautiful Ship and obviously a labor of love! And we look forward to your next build!!! CHEERS!!!!!!!!!

Black Shoe!!!!!!
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Dang Cash!!! You're flying through it! A great looking boat and a tip-top build!
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Whoa! Chug!!!!!!!
These are amazing! Good digging! I dunno Chug, but you may have out-scaled the real thing! Great workmanship!
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Still much to do especially with sorting the Traxxas drivetrain and electronics, but getting there. I foolishly just started the big Brooklyn Tug too, so lost in the shop these days. Too many projects, but love keeping the brain working!
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Ross! Watch out for the "chain-shot"!!!!!!

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Welcome aboard Ian! You’ve come to the right place! Good souls one and all and we aim to please!
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You got this Doug!!!
Glad you are feeling better. And remember your three best friends are your Cardiologist, your Urologist, and then your wife or partner. In that order!
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Keep listening to what the doctors and your body tells you and go easy.
And start building dammit!

Best — Guy “jumpugly”

Outstanding workmanship Mates!!!!!!

Happy Easter one and all!

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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LYofpWHrCVg

This is great...

I think we hit on that one a while back John. Here take a quick look...

forum/158206#158296

Good morning Folks!
Had to reinforce the transom with a plywood overlay and a strip of steel as I don't have too much faith in the stock transom be able to handle they drivetrain I've applied. Or am I just being paranoid?
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Be that as it may...I have wandered into a rabbit hole of too much work going on at the same time. In addition to sorting the mechanicals on this hydro, I have to do the final touches on the K-7 (decals on the way) and rig the Pacific Trader!!!

Then this...
I now have a suddenly growing stash of kits due to the "discovery" of a wheeler-dealer rc boat collector (just 60 miles from me) who also liquidates estates and recently came upon a dusty old mansion in New Jersey that had over 40 ancient models in it including an immense paddle wheeler with over 300 lights in it!
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So, as a result of the discovery of this "wheeler-dealer" I now have a large 40" Nordic trawler and a bucket-list 40" Dumas Brooklyn Tug on the bench. The abs hulled tug, my first ever tug, has leap-frogged the plank on frame trawler and my two Chris Crafts. More on "one" of those Chris Crafts (a Graupner) later! I even got DW involved. Thanks Dave!
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Of course, my wife thinks I'm nuts! Well, I can't argue with that! My shop looks like Frankenstein's laboratory!!!!!

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Chris!
Please don’t get me wrong.
I am good with Ai art and creativity it’s just how it’s being abused online and within politics, especially over here. Not to mention Ai being used to have Disney animated characters discuss sexual topics. It’s insane.
At times, I feel as though the world’s gone absolutely nuts.
Thank God I have my shop and boats to retreat to.
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These are fun Chris, but having spent 38 years in Hollywood...I'll not go any further other than to say I wish Sam Altman and Chatgtp would get the hell out of my life.
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Hi Lew:
Chinese outfit that seems like a hit with the rock-crawler crowd. They also have a US warehouse for distribution. Considering the amount of upgrade parts I buy from China these days, I wouldn't be surprised if they are workable set-ups. They've only been in the US market for a year or so and have developed a following because of their super competitive pricing and reliability.

I personally like the old tried-and-true Futaba gear and also like the Traxxas gear these days.

I'm interested to see how it works for you should you decide to use it.
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Wow looks awesome Jock!!!!!! Excellent Work!!!!!
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Cash!!!!!!
This was a great bash and build. Thanks so much for the inspiration. Wonderful Job!!!

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Mike!!!!!!!
Everytime I see the word Leyland I think of my TR7 and the Midget that was to be mine. My girlfriend at the time drove my TR7 in to a small garden fish pond and the my cousin Joey's Midget was fire bombed by the loan shark he owed money to.

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Hey There! Well, that's a tough one, but you can download it for 3D printing...
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https://www.printables.com/model/1565998-vegesack-graupner-boat

Hey Chug! Nah, that's Ray Harryhausen's Cyclops from the classic "7th Voyage of Sinbad." It's by X-Plus from a while back. Wonderful figure for sure.
I haven't totally jumped into figure painting, but do enjoy painting my crew figures when I need them.
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