ChrisLBren

Looking good my friend !!!!

Hey Lou - I do have a mill - the Proxxon MF70 - which I utilize on everything. I did start the gammoning slot with it - the rest was finished with files and sandpaper taped to 1/32 scrap wood. As far as the cutting board - bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond -works great for any work you need to use your chisels/knives with.

Getting closer - needs a few more hours of precise sanding....

Thanks Chuck -not too worried about the aft side. The rest requires endless tweaking to get it right - spent a good part of the afternoon yesterday on the assemblies - not there yet. Heres a progress shot - I do love this French Pear Im working with so far !

Thanks Dputzler ! So a couple pics of the stem assembly so far. Keep in mind third attempt with these pieces - I got them as close to Chucks tolerances as possible. As you can see the back of the stem near the top has some meat on it for sanding it to the false keel. I thought these pics might be helpful to others who are scratching their stem. These pieces were glued on top of the table of my scroll saw to insure flatness - no simulated caulking for the joints - the finish should be enough to subtly highlight them.

We’re our own worst critics !!! Nice fix

Thanks Lou and Rusty ! This one should be fun. This pear is actually a lot lighter than the pear supplied by Jeff Hayes on my last build - which is much darker and pinker. In terms of the WVH - she's still laying in wait. Im spoiled now working with nice wood - the thought of going back to cheap kit provided walnut and pot metal carvings to complete the WVH keeps me away for now.

Thanks Chuck. No simulated caulking or treenails for me on this one ! The finish will accentuate the joint lines as I did with Confederacy.

Greetings Group, Many of you know me from my first build log as a pilot on Chucks Confederacy Build a few years back. That build was a tremendous learning experience and I have had a hard time following it up. I was hesitant to start a build log - as I have had a few aborted attempts on fully framed Ancre subjects. I decided to post one because as many of you are making the leap to trying your hand at scratch building for the first time - maybe I can offer some guidance/advice. Remember you will make mistakes - part of the fun is repeating assemblies to get them right. Ive got a big scrap bin already !!! Chucks designs are so user friendly - being able to print your plans off the download makes life so much easier. I have already made three attempts at the stem parts and have probably burned thru 20 sheets of paper - way easier than having to go to FED EX or UPS Store to copy Ancre plans. That said - once retired I will get back to a fully framed subject -its my passion. But for now raising two 6 year olds and running two businesses can get in the way of time in the workshop. I have very little progress to show for my LGV at 1/36th scale - steep learning curve and hard to build momentum. Chucks beautifully designed Winnie project is a perfect solution and so far I am having a blast, not to mention being part of a group build. My approach - scratch build everything in Pear - you can see Ive attached photos of the my remaining flitch of French Pear along with some of the resulting billets - milled by a local facility. This is way more cost effective than buying already milled sheets and you get consistency of color. I want to experiment with finishes on this build - Confederacy was finished in Pure Tung Oil - I am thinking of mixing my own shellac on this build to mimic the original UK model's luster. No simulated treenails or caulking - most models from 200-300 years ago did not show these features. I will use red paint for the bulwarks and hopefully try to match the blue of the original model for the friezes (that's really the part of this build that scares me the most). Ill probably just paint the wales vs using dye - which is a headache and fades (its already happening with Confederacy). And carve my own figurehead and sculptures..... Thanks for following along - progress shots attached from two weeks of work thus far...

Lou its trial and error - this is my third attempt on the stem to get the fit as close to where Im satisfied with the assembly. The flitch of French Pear I bought a couple of years ago is really nice. I had a local facility mill it to my specs for billets @ 3/8, 1/4 and 3/16 for 100 dollars - way cheaper than buying milled sheets. And you get consistency of color.

Who needs a laser cutter ? Keel cut out in three parts with my Dewalt Scroll saw - dead flat and true.

Congrats Kortes - beautiful job on one of my favorite subjects !!!!

Looks terrific ! I notice a lot of Russian Modelers use Black Hornbeam instead of Ebony. Is it easier to work with - it certainly looks great. Thanks, Chris

What a beauty Jim - thanks for sharing !!!! Good luck with your build Daniel !!!

Wow - looks terrific !!!