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[tassie48]

I always start a build book on each of the models that I build normally some 200 pages this one on Metinda III is 300 pages start out with indexing all pages 1 to 300 in this case then break it down to sections hull,frames,bulwarks,belting rails,etc the bridge is in sections bridge ,wings ,monkey island ,interior etc as i see things I add to the book making notes and adding details mast ,rigging,lights nav,and work lights height location etc,I cross reference every thing prop and shaft motor and ESC etc all my measurements hatches etc  are written into the book when I copy pages each page has the index number to it for cross reference etc.
All the scale measurements are their all details are in the book stauntons number size location etc I scale of the plans and enter all data to my reference build book I have always done this I normally do research on a area like the bridge area noting all the detail that I see I enjoy the research side of things NOW I am not a rivet counter far from it just enjoy the research side of things and learning what is in the model to be seen .
Now I plan to start a build blog and set up a website to her build as well as post the build her as well my brag book has some hundreds of photos of each build .
I like to add information some times changing the build a few times as with all my models I like to fit crew just to finish off the model .
In my build book you look up flags and they are their portside out side is scale this case 124 ships call sign this model Metinda III is MNLQ and my GJM name of builder owner on the stb outside.
As my mate says that is the way we roll does any one else do a build book like me  tassie 48

[jarvo]

Hi Tassie, dont do a book as such, i do not sizes etc. Hatch comings, (lost a few over the years) prop size and manufacture, shafts and such like, most important is paint, the who,where ,what and why, chips and damage need to be matched


Mark

[roycv]

Hi, I do not do a build book but I do have a plain writing book I call Notes on Boats, I use this to put my thoughts on the coming build and a wish list.  I take photos during the build as a reminder for later.  The one thing I have to yet do is write 'how it works' on each boat, frquencies batteries etc as my memory is getting a bit dodgy lately. 
Also none of us last forever and having working details of a model is needed as they are nearly all one-offs.  I took on a boat a couple of years ago where the electronics were so complicated I gave up!
regards Roy

[tigertiger]

I believe that the modelers who do competitions do something similar, that also includes the build log. This is used to show the judges that they have done their homework, the model is to scale, and they have actually done the work that they say they have. The latter especially relevant to scratch builders to show that they, for example, constructed the fiberglass hull themselves and did not just buy it. Or if things are 3D printed or fabricated, that they did the design themselves.
Perhaps Colin Bishop can shed more light on this matter.

[roycv]

Good point TT, as Secretary of our club I used to liiase with the judges when we used to have competitions.  I believe as much as 10 % of their point allocation was for the background information.  I have always been drawn to models with build logs as it is nice to see how good(or bad) the hidden bits are.
You can almost tell who have engineering backgrounds by the way motors and interiors are fitted out.
But there is a down side my first build log for a magazine article was too deep and involved and far too many words etc.  Best to keep it brief but explicit and a photo can take the place of many words.  Keeping someones interest is the key.
I have done a few restorations and use photos and writing each week to inform the owner via email of progress.  Plus you can ask advice as to which way to go when something is perhaps unexpected.  Simple test is would you read it if it was someone elses model?
regards Roy

[nemesis]

I built a cargo ship and kept a build log together with research and photos as the build progressed. The judges did not turn a page, makes you wonder, nemesis

[ballastanksian]

I scribble sketches, dimensions and formulas etc onto any plans I am working from but do not keep a log.


I might do for the Armoured Cruiser.

[Colin Bishop]

Picking up on TT's point, there is a big difference between a build log and providing information for competition judges. There is lots of stuff about judging elsewhere on the site so I won't repeat that but basically judges should simply need to be satisfied which work has been done by the builder together with some evidence of research that has been done. They don't have the time to second guess and check all the details. I have been to competitions where entrants have provided comprehensive build logs accompanied by sheets of plans in support of their entries but the truth is that judges simply don't have the time to look at all that information in detail and even if they did there is no way they could interpret it to the extent that the builder will have needed to have done to construct the model. Some things simply have to be taken on judgement and trust. Over many years I have found that it is pretty clear to what extent the builder has researched and contructed the model. It's all down to experience really.

With regard to Nemesis' point, judging standards obviously vary too as has been discussed at some length in the past on here!

Competitions seem to be generally out of favour these days so it's all a bit academic really.

People compile build logs to satisfy themselves and that is entirely up to them. Personally I prefer not to record my frustrations en route to producing a half deent model!

Colin

[nemesis]

Hi Colin, I spent quite a lot of time building a 65" blue Funnel vessel, making everything apart from the anchor chain.I was persuaded to enter a scale comp. The winner was a trawler, so i went across to see and have a chat with the builder, he had very good cowl vents and I asked him how had he made them, it turned he bought them together with a lot of the other detail, I thought you had to sign that / what you had made. Maybe that is the reason why this type of Comp is on the decline, nemesis 

[Colin Bishop]

Nemesis,

There are no standard rules for competitions except perhaps for those published by the MPBA. Consequently organisers can appoint any Tom, Dick or Harry to the job and the 'rules' can be very sloppy. Longer standing events such as the old Model Engineer Exhibition (which now appears to be defunct) or the Society of Model Shipwrights, do maintain minimum standards but otherwise you often just have to take pot luck. Running stringently applied competitions is an art which seems to have been largely lost but I think that is very much due to the shift in attitude in the modelling community who no longer wish to be 'competitive' which is in some respects a shame as there is not so much incentive to improve modelling standards as there was in the 'old days'.

The other killer of course is that these days you can buy just about anything you want online which rather discourages people from spending hours on making some exquisitely detailed fitting when you can buy it from Cornwall Model Boats or similar for comparitive peanuts!

For myself, at the ripe old age of 70, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that, while I want to construct unique models, if I can speed up the process by purchasing the fittings I need then I will do so. Times change but I still like to build something that few others will have done such as my recently completed fishery cruiser.

The 70s and 80s were a great time for scale modellers but they are history now. I am just pleased that I was part of it.

Colin

[ballastanksian]

Sadly some of the fittings available are utter carp. Either too chunky, badly mastered or cast or both. Several companies like Cornwall d seem to stock the better ranges, but obviously you are limited by the selection within these ranges and so either have to look further afield and fall into the average to poor quality trap, or bite the scratch building bullet!
I don't know what set the trend that we have to accept substandard quality? It seems to be the same in the model railway world as well.


I will buy cowl vents as they are a necessary nuisance but will build weapons and special assemblies like funnels, adding bits to my collection of items moulded and cast.

[nemesis]

so very true, building 1/96 cargo liners with nothing available leads on to making everything, which is why it might take 2/3 years to finish a model. nemesis

[Colin Bishop]

A lot of fittings are cast white metal or cast resin and at small scales often are not very well defined. When making your own, the variety of plastic extrusions can be quite helpful, plastruct for example. I used their stairs as a basis for the companionways on my Fishery Cruiser. People who build warships seem to have it a bit better with armaments and other fittings but, as you say Nemesis, if you want to build traditional merchant ships then you are very much on your own. Still, it's worth it in the end as nobody else will have a model the same as yours.

Colin

[nemesis]

Colin, pm sent, nemesis