James H

PART 4.5 (Optional) Yes, this box is indeed optional to the final build, but in all fairness, it seems nonsensical not to add it unless you're working to strict budgeting restraints. This set will add all of the main hull internal details, such as cabins, internal bulkhead detail, livestock pens, water pumps...in fact, you name it, and it'll be there. It's certainly a weighty box too and crammed 101% full with an incredible number of sheets, as well as fittings and PE etc. All parts in this pack are packed into a single cellophane wrap, and there are individual stacks of sheet timber, both laser and CNC-cut. These sheets are CNC cut. I did wonder about the levels of debris still attached to them, but the majority of this is attached to the frames and not the parts themselves. I did remove a quantity of this beforehand, so that isn't an issue. A nice, clean cutting bit would definitely be advisable for manufacturing though. This pack contains around 31 sheets of laser-cut cherry parts, and a further 9 sheets of plywood for creating the various internal shapes within the hull structure. All laser work is nicely cut, and with minimal rear scorching. As a matter of course, I'd routinely use a sanding mouse with a fine grit to finish off the rear of all sheets so that none of that wood colour shows any discolouration. Quite a large pack of cellophane-wrapped timber is included in this set, all very uniform in colour, nicely cut with no bad edges, and also marked up for identification. Two sections of dowel are also supplied, as is a roll of brass wore, in a CAF wooden spindle. Various packets show rope, pump tubes, a resin jig for building poultry shed, eyelets, nails, internal anchor (stowage), and what looks like hatch lifting loops which are made from cast metal. A large, single sheet of photo-etch is supplied. Here you will find parts for window frames, pump filter ends, lanterns, door hinges etc. PE quality is excellent with only small gates to remove each part. It took about 15 minutes to finally get all of the parts back into the box, along with the manual etc, and that lid is still bulging. Instructions The manual for this set is 46 pages in A4 format, clearly printed, with of those pages being part maps alone. If you want to have a preview of this manual, then it's on the CAF website along with the other kit chapters. Here are just a few selected pages. In the next week or so, I'll show the penultimate pack #5.

Last update before paint. At the moment, I've been finalising some external details before I can finally mask up the hull and start to apply the ochre colour and do any last minute filling that might be necessary. Here are the completed chesstrees. The deck beam edges are. now carefully hidden with decorative edgings The prow hair decorations are included as both pear and PolyBak. As this model will be painted, I opted to use the latter parts. Here you can see how they are fitted. Then onto the cheeks, bolsters, and V frames for the final details. The latter assembly isn't glued to the hull at this stage.

As soon as they show an interest and have a little dexterity. That goes for any type of modelling. I built my first model when I was 7 or 8, using a craft knife and supervision. By the time I was 10yrs, I was wielding a surgical knife and have honed that skill ever since.

Absolutely! One of Nelson's flagships, and also one of only two of his ships ever captured on film; the other being Victory. Foudroyant was wrecked only about 30 miles from me.

Nothing goes in that gap. It's purely decorative. I do need to add the shingles to the roof areas though.

As promised. Recent work has been fitting various gunwales etc. It's real nice to see the finishing caps to the bulwarks, and the laminated areas finally disappear. These are the waist gunwales. Note that I have painted the inner edges of gunwales etc. in black. This just means I don't have the scary job later on, when the main colour is added to the hull. These parts are the verticals for the ends of the bulwarks, tidying off those areas. When dry, they are flushed with the top of the bulwarks. The forecastle bulwarks have been tackled slightly differently with Surprise. To begin, there is a section which is glued in right at the front. This means that the side pieces are now easier to manipulate around any inconsistencies that the modeller might've built into their specific model. Now the quarterdeck gunwales are fitted. I should've posted this photo a while ago. This is the flag set for Surprise. The quality is excellent....no stiffness in the material. It already hangs far more naturally than previous flags. These weren't a cheap addition, but thought to be worthwhile.

Small update coming tomorrow.

Another update! The hull now receives its pear planking and engraved outer bulwarks (once the inners are glued). We can now dispense with the remaining visible MDF structure. This is now snipped away, pending the main deck being laid. The deck is then glued down and it's time to add the inner bulwarks. Here are the forecastle inner bulwarks. These fit like a treat! You need to soak the fore areas though and leave them to thoroughly dry while being clamped into the bow area. The bulwarks are then removed, painted and then finally glued, both here and on the quarterdeck areas. The triple-layer bulwarks are now levelled along their top edges and the various gun ports and other openings are cleaned up. The catheads are built and then the forecastle openings are suited to fit these assemblies. These aren't glued in at this stage. We can now return to the stern area. Before be can do any fitting here, the back needs to be flushed off, meaning the bulwarks and spirket will need to levelled properly. With the stern fascia temporarily in position again, the quarter gallery frames are now constructed. The inner stern area has the framework angles engraved on them, so getting those MDT frame parts in position is foolproof. There are two layers of pear around the windows area, creating those recessed areas for the panes. The lower panel is a single piece of pear. The stern fascia can now be glued into place. To finish the stern (almost) various rails are fitted, as well as some beautiful 3d-printed drops for the quarters. The only decor to now be fitted are some engraved laserbak details around the outer circumference etc. At that point, the whole stern will change again. Hope you like the work so far.

You'll also notice the jigs are back in situ. Those will be there until the hull is fully planked and sanded. They just give the hull some nice rigidity while being manhandled.

My apologies for being so slack on updates. Surprise is now unrecognisable from my last update, and some of you have already noticed the image change on the homepage of Vanguard Models website. Anyway, here we go... The stern of Surprise has been tackled in a different way that previous releases, removing any modeller error where the stern fascia could possibly be located too low on the hull. This release includes protrusions on the vertical stern timbers. These contain slots into which the stern fascia fits. Once the stern is chamfered to shape, the inner stern fascia is then temporarily slotted into place, and then the lower counter can be properly positioned and glued into place. The inner stern fascia can then be removed while other hull work continues. Some of the largest parts in the kit are the first layer of outer bulwarks. The front end of these are soaked in hot water and then clamped around the bow for 24hrs until dry and they regain their normal size. Once dry, the bulwarks are CLAMPED into place....NO GLUE! This is simply to help align the first hull plank. The first layer of planking can now begin, starting with lime. With this in place, the bulwark can be removed until later. Once complete, the hull is sanded smooth. Before this happens, a temporary plank is placed above the first plank. Sounds odd? Ok, HMS Surprise does NOT have wales on either side. Instead, the main hull planking protrudes slightly beyond the bulwarks. To achieve this, we first use 1.5mm lime planking. (the inner bulwark was only 0.8mm). The temporary plank is to prevent the modeller from accidentally running inwards along the top side while sanding. When the hull is sanded, the plank and tape (to stop dust ingress), can be removed. Note the sanding mouse too. This is now what I use for large hulls. I now add a waterline which is about 5mm below the actual one. Everything above this has any slight gaps filled. Below the waterline though, we'll of course be coppering. More soon.

The error can actually disappear, as you see. That usually happens if a user's IP refreshes, or they turn on/off a VPN (or change VPN location).

I love '%s'. Wonderful company.

We operate modular software which will integrate within certain areas of the forum. Unfortunately, I can't just move these things into different areas or modify them to operate in more than one location.

I just need the IP from the screen you get, then I will whitelist it.

Any movement on this?