comming soon the Ruby Belle tow boat scratch build

[Sumpter250]

AF350 - this might be of interest to you
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This is the Harbor and Ocean series, cast resin and wood HO scale kit of a Friendship Sloop. It was.....a challenge to build it as a decent model of a sloop. I ended up using the hull, and seriously scratch-building the details, and not using the rigging line provided. ( a bit on the "heavy side" ), even the lighter weight thread I used photographs a bit "stout". Remember that in HO scale 1", is only an actual 0.114942" :o
O K... I admit, I am familiar with this sloop, and it's development as a "Down East" work boat, a "grown-up" Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack. They are really a sweet sailing craft !, and make a wonderful private sailboat. Their work boat "roots", give them a seaworthiness that can be hard to find in some modern sailboat designs.
   
That said, The resin casting was excellent, and the resin was easy to work with, and again, it was because I know the boat, that there was a lot of ironwork,blocks,and dead-eyes that had to be built from scratch.
Dec. 2012, Jan., and Feb. 2013 Railroad Model Craftsman's article on the B&O Stick Lighter, would be an excellent guide to almost any "Barge" hull building.
Your use of the mock-ups, to keep a reference to what the finished model should look like is a "well rewarded procedure", and certainly worth using throughout the build.