BillLib

Hi Ken,
Very nice looking build you've got there.
 
I'd like to recommend an alternate material for the window glazing.  I've used Weldbond adhesive for glazing and the results look very similar to your results.  It goes on milky white and cures quite transparent.  Curing takes roughly 12 hours.  I apply it by taking a glob of the adhesive and twirling it around within the window pane cavity with a toothpick.  I purchased it at a local hardware store for $3.29 CDN for a 2 ounce tube.
 
Bill
 

Hello again,     Here's my progress report.
 
The re-building of the galleries has now been completed as you will see in the photos.  I only needed to take apart one complete gallery level and deck to make the corrections needed to bring things back into line, so not too bad. The mistakes that I'd made were that I had made the deck with a slight overhang of the windows below and put the next level too near the edge of that deck thus leaving them too far out from the hull side. As I had done earlier I filled the gap to the middle windows,  it had worked well on the lower galleries and seemed an easy option and looked ok. I had not considered that whilst at this stage it looked ok as the build got higher and the galleries became smaller this extra width that I'd introduced made the curves at the top needing to be extreme to fit and you saw the result.
 
I made decks that fitted exactly above the windows and started the next level of the tier about 4mm in from the edge, the curve of the balustrade needed was less which made things easier and resulted in the inner and outer windows coming together as they should, no need for inserts. Confirming this was the fact that when I got to it the top deck the kit pre-cut part for it fitted and was used. I fitted a small strip of wood as edge casting around the top of the windows to give them a finished look. Oh for hindsight, having made up these gallery parts once I think that I would find no problems if I were to do it again knowing that the parts DO fit with only small adjustments. The difficulty is understanding the relationship between all the different parts, next to, above and bellow. 
 
Quite a bit of re touching of the area that I had worked on  needed to be done, that really was the only downside. I'm now ready to do the rear facia with all of its gorgeous castings.
 
 
 
ken
 

 

Hello Everyone,      My latest progress report reads almost the same as my last one except one deck higher on the gallery. I had the same issue with the fit and the solution of the extra piece of facia was employed again, at least it is consistent. I must have gone wrong somewhere early on as the error is running the same for the whole height of the galleries. Unless I run into serious fitting problems later I don't see this as an issue as it looks ok to me and unless you are very familiar with it or compare it closely with the plan it isn't going to be noticed.
 
 
 
Ken.
 
 

Hi Pete, You noticed, I'm a bit out of sync with my pictures and description. I think this photo will explain. I've given the castings their final shaping and painted them ready for fitting. The black on the oval castings was so the the gold on the relief would stand out.
 
 
Ken
 
 
 

Hello Everyone.    Again thanks for your likes.   Here's the latest.
 
 
I have now made, planked and fitted the next transom deck. As I said I cut away the original deck so that I could fit a one piece version that would be much easier. This deck when fitted was about 3mm lower than the original at the front, but because of the upward slant of the galleries it fits perfectly in line at its rear with the transom facia's deck position. I now realise that The original deck would have been wrong as its incline was shallower than the gallery decks and would not have fitted at both the forward or rear part at the same time.
 
At Pete's suggestion I checked that the cast figures at the rear edge of the transom would fit as it would be easier to make any corrections at this stage. I hadn't given any thought to this but as luck would have it all is ok.
 
I have shown the pieces that make up the next level of the gallery. They are now glazed and shaped ready for painting.
 
 
Ken
 
 

9001.doc

Hello Everyone,         Here is the latest update.
 
I've shown a photo of the next pieces of castings that need to be assembled and fitted into place, they were painted,shaped and ready to go. Mark did point out that this was a difficult part of the build and was tricky to get right, I now know what he meant. I had already built up the middle inner section of windows and the side doors, these were in their exact position, the next step was the windows that linked up with the outer cabin windows and the hand rail-balustrade. Each of these needed setting at an angle so that they would not only be in the correct position but that their edges perfectly aligned with each other at the same time. I found that no matter what I did even after bending to shape I could only get them either to align or set them looking ok in the correct position but not both together.
 
I decided rather than follow the accepted way I would make it easier for myself and fit the outer windows and balustrade in as correct position that I could according to the plan without regard to it aligning with the inner window, this after all is what will mostly be visible. I then fitted the inner cabin window, again without regard to it making contact with the outer windows, but in a position that looked ok, this left a gap of between 2mm-4mm. I made up a piece and glued it into the gap, when painted it looked as if it should be there. I'm pleased with the result and glad that I didn't let myself get frustrated trying to get it absolutely correct. Next I will be making the deck to fit above these cabins.
 
 
Ken
 
 

Hello Everyone,      Thanks for all the thumbs up on my build so far.
 
Anton, thanks for your comments, at least I'm not having to make all my own decorative castings like you. I'm following your build and really enjoying the effort that your putting in, great work.
 
Mark, thanks for your encouragement, I appreciate your comments.
 
As I said, I found the first part of the gallery quite a challenge. I knew what I wanted to do but it was my first foray into working with cast parts and I was getting into difficulties trying to bend it in different planes, I would get one area right and it would then cause another area to not fit, a frustrating day but a learning curve.
 
I approached the next level which is more difficult with a different mindset, with the experience I'd gained I was more confident, more relaxed about it, no trying for quick results. I was also annoyed with myself for not photographing my efforts, so at least for the rest of the transom I will try and photograph everything that I do bit by bit, warts and all. I hope that there won't be too many boring pictures.
 
First I shaped the stern so that the facia would sit at the correct angle and have the right contact with the decks,   Photo.
 
I then had second thoughts, The way that I made and fitted the deck above the lower part worked very well so I decided to do the same for this deck. I cut off the original deck flush with the rear bulkhead. I'll cut my deck out in one piece and use the supplied deck side pieces as a guide for the edge curve.    Photo
 
I painted and glazed the inner windows and side doors, I only glazed the others, I'll paint them after shaping, ( lesson learned ). I've shown a photo of the parts needed for this section of gallery
 
After careful adjusting I set in place the inner windows and side doors, Again I used canopy glue with small dots of cyno to hold it together whilst drying.    Photo.
 
Next I cleaned up and bent to shape the side railings. The solution that I came up with for bending the cast parts was to use the shaft of a large soldering iron clamped in a vice, this gave enough heat without melting to easily bend these castings, (  another lesson learnt ).    Photo
 
Next was to make up the balustrades. Euromodel supplied a cast serrated strip which on first appearance looked a bit naff and I was disappointed,   Photo.  However not having anything else at hand to substitute it I continued, I cut the pieces to size, this was very fiddly, as they were to be glued in with cyno they needed to be filed to an exact fit. Once I started to fit them I changed my mind about how good they were and I was glad that I hadn't substituted them, at this scale I don't think that they could be improved on without a great effort or cost.   Photo
 
I painted the rails and the picture shows them just resting in place. A good session.
 
Ken
 
 

Hello Everyone,      Here's todays update.
 
I have just finished the first set of windows of the transom. Those of you that have done this will know my feelings on this part of the build, I have sat down and opened a beer to try and relax again. It was like trying to pluck a chicken with boxing gloves on. The plans were of no help at all and yet again I resorted to others logs, especially Marks excellent, well documented interpretation. I had already painted the windows thinking that it would be easier to just touch them up after fitting than trying to paint them in place. I spent quite some time coaxing them into a shape that they would sit on the transom support and have some sort of relation to each other, had I not seen examples of it having been done I would have said that it was impossible and given up but perseverance and I think a bit of luck got me there. I used my canopy glue to attach them with some small dots of cyno to hold them in place whilst it set. I used this stuff because of its gap filling qualities, it is water soluble so any excess can be wiped away unlike epoxy which is pretty messy. For making the deck above Euromodel supplied some precut pieces, I found that these appeared to be the wrong shape and couldn't be made to fit so I used Marks idea and made up the deck from one piece of ply instead of the three supplied, I planked it and glued it into place, I also had some spare decorative strip which I glued around it's edge. I then touched up the whole area.
 
I would normally have photographed each step but on this occasion I got so involved I didn't pause to do so, probably a good thing as I might have thrown my camera out of the window in frustration. I am now more impressed with other builders efforts in this area  knowing the difficulties.
 
Having said all that I am not disappointed with the result, in fact I am rather pleased with how it looks so yet again perhaps Euromodel got it right.
 
 
Ken
 
 

Hi Ken,
Very nice looking build you've got there.
 
I'd like to recommend an alternate material for the window glazing.  I've used Weldbond adhesive for glazing and the results look very similar to your results.  It goes on milky white and cures quite transparent.  Curing takes roughly 12 hours.  I apply it by taking a glob of the adhesive and twirling it around within the window pane cavity with a toothpick.  I purchased it at a local hardware store for $3.29 CDN for a 2 ounce tube.
 
Bill
 

Hi Ken,
Very nice looking build you've got there.
 
I'd like to recommend an alternate material for the window glazing.  I've used Weldbond adhesive for glazing and the results look very similar to your results.  It goes on milky white and cures quite transparent.  Curing takes roughly 12 hours.  I apply it by taking a glob of the adhesive and twirling it around within the window pane cavity with a toothpick.  I purchased it at a local hardware store for $3.29 CDN for a 2 ounce tube.
 
Bill
 

Hi Ken,
Very nice looking build you've got there.
 
I'd like to recommend an alternate material for the window glazing.  I've used Weldbond adhesive for glazing and the results look very similar to your results.  It goes on milky white and cures quite transparent.  Curing takes roughly 12 hours.  I apply it by taking a glob of the adhesive and twirling it around within the window pane cavity with a toothpick.  I purchased it at a local hardware store for $3.29 CDN for a 2 ounce tube.
 
Bill
 

The port side chain wales, lanyards, and stools are completed. I prefer to rig the lanyards as they are placed on the wales. I find it easier this way to later on attach and rig the shrouds and back stays.
Now off to the starboard side. 
 
Vince P. 

Hello Everyone.        Another update.
 
 
I've now done the rudder and attached it.  Pete has revised and updated his notes recently showing much more detail having drawn from the experience of other builds. One area that more info is given is that of the rudder. I used the supplied hinges and aged them a little with a brass blackener. The shoulders of these hinges are quite thick and would have needed fairly deep cut outs in the rudder or big battens to avoid a large gap with the sternpost so I compromised and used both the cut outs and battens to achieve a reasonable if not authentic look. The moulded bolts on the hinges were too pronounced so I filed these back a little, I trimmed and bent them to shape, secured the pins and attached them to the hull using cyno. I normally nail them on but as the bolts were already embossed on and looked quite good I decided to glue them, if they hadn't felt secure I could  have nailed them but believe me they are solid. I had doubts at first but I'm pleased with the result.
 
I have also started on the gallery windows. Using a scalpel I gave the glazed area a final trim, primed glazed then painted them. I am going to keep to a simple colour scheme of black, white and gold, I think that these colours compliment each other and give a good clean contrast.
 
On my previous post I said that the gallery supports were only ok but would do, I think I was a bit harsh on myself because leaving them overnight and returning in the morning I now think that they are quite good and again I'm pleased with the result. I think that I was expecting to be able to shape the castings around complex curves and for it to stay flat against the surface like photo etch but it's a different beast, it's quality lies in its depth and rich detail but should not be viewed from too close up to see it at it's best. Just putting my opinion down here.
 
 
 
Ken
 
 
 

 

 

Hi Ken,
Hopefully the following images will be of help to you.  These are my interpretation of the bow area.  Most of my interpretation came from Pete's interpretation plus the wonderful builds on MSW.  I did not use some of the metal supplied in the kit when constructing the forecastle front bulkhead, rather opting for wood.
 
Regards,
Bill
 
 

Hello Everyone.    As you'll see I've had another busy time at the shipyard.  It's come along so well that I'm actually grinning at the thought of showing it off. As I mentioned earlier, until the hull is sanded it looks a bit rough and you don't get that thrill of seeing what it's eventually going to look like, but now!

I gave it a good sanding, there were a few seams that I rubbed some filler in to try and get it as good as I could. I cut out the grooves for the stem, keel and sternpost, made them up and fitted them. I'd not done it like this before but had a good feeling that it was the way to go. I'm delighted at the result and don't think that I could have had as neat a result if I had tried to butt the planks against the prow and stern. I decided to stain the hull to give the wood a slightly warmer than walnut look. I rubbed in some light teak stain, this gave it a slight honey coloured tone a bit like pear, it also brought out the grain so again I was pleased. I think that I'll give it a coat of sanding sealer so that the nice surface doesn't get any stains on it that I won't be able to remove.
 
I am now in a dilemma, whilst I realise that it will never be used as an example of how a model ship should be planked I am so pleased with the way it looks that I am now undecided whether to leave it bare showing off the wood or to paint it as had originally intended. Hmm! thoughts on this please.
 
I am now nearing the part of the build that I am dreading most, The stern gallery support and the galleries themselves. Mark in his log gives an excellent account with good pictures of how he accomplished his galleries but until I start I have doubts on how I'm actually going to get this done, I've got a couple of pre shaped pieces of wood, the third and thinnest was missing so I made one up off the plan and I'm now wondering where to start?
 
 
Ken

Another little update - all the lower shrouds are now done. Also added all the staves to the shrouds - each one is tied to each shroud rope. Glad to get that fiddly stuff done.Still deciding whether to add catharpins - they are not shown on the plans,but they were in use at that time period.
 

 

 

 

 
Mark

Hello Everyone, 
 
Thanks for your likes, keep them coming.
 
In answer to your question about the glue that I am using on my second planking, it's medium Cyno, I'll explain how I use it.
 
As I said I use Cyno.  I found that this horrid stuff got everywhere, made a mess and stuck everything to everything else, mostly to fingers and the fumes were not very pleasant. The nozzles quickly clogged up an I was only ever able to get through half a bottle before throwing it away.
 
I don't know if you already do what I do and use a syringe needle but it's a simple and very affective way of using the stuff without any of the mentioned problems.
 
In the pictures you'll see that I insert the needle into the bottle, I let it make its own hole, it makes a good seal that way, I find that you get a nice thin flow that can be accurately controlled with your fingers well out of the way. When the needle starts to get a build up of dried glue or clogs just hold a light to it, as it is very flammable the excess rapidly burns off and you are quickly left with the needle that's like new with no effort. I find that a needle will last almost indefinably and the whole bottle stays usable to its end. I bought the needles on EBay for very little, a five pack will last a lifetime.
 
As you see I glue the planks in about 2" - 3"  lengths using the needle to put a line of glue under them as I go. I was careful with the upper planks as they won't be painted.
I use white glue when I put the fillets in as it's easier to wipe clean. I also use white glue for the first planking and most other wooden parts.
 
I also find that it's quite good at putting a very tiny amount of glue on knots to hold them. 
 
Ken
 
 

Hello Everyone.  All ok here, got back into the groove so here's the latest update.

I've got quite a bit done, I lined, sanded and painted the inner bulwarks and open ports. I made and fitted the capstan, this needed reducing in size quite a bit, I think that it must have been a general stock part. I have got a fair way with the planking, well past the fiddly bits around the ports, I was very pleased that the method I had used produced very clean, neat results. I have now started from the keel upwards and that too looks to be going ok.  I have shown an estimation of where the main wale will go, it is hoped that I can hide the transition from the top planking to the upswept planking behind it. With painting the lower hull and the fitting of the ornamentation around the bow I think that my not very correct planking pattern may not be much noticed and if I can keep my joints tight it will look quite good. I have seen some perfect planking patterns that because of poor joins look not so good, so again I just want it to be simple and neat.
 
 
 
Ken
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Hi,       Just a small update showing my progress with the second planking.
 
 
So far it's going as I hoped that it would, the gun port method is working well and I'm quite pleased at how it's going. I have just arrived at the point where I must taper the planks at the bow, I really will have to give it a bit more thought than I first intended. I've roughly marked where the wales will go and I think that I'll be able to arrange it so as to hide the transition from straight planks to upward swept planks behind them. I'll divide the hull into sections of about five planks and try to taper the planks evenly between each section. As basic as that sounds at least it's a plan, as I intend to paint the lower hull I think that it will look ok.
 
 
Here's a couple more pictures of Liverpool.
 
 
 
Ken.

Hi, Thanks Pete.   As for entertainment here's another picture. It's the same lighthouse that appears in my other pictures but this time the view is from the shore and hey, everyone likes a lighthouse.
 
Enjoy,     Ken

Hello again.            Thanks for your likes and comments.
 
Just in case you were wondering, I much prefer building boats to aircraft.
 
The good news for me is that I've finally finished filing out all the window frames. This was my most hated modelling job that I have ever done. I started out doing half hour sessions then quickly reduced the time spent on them, I ended up doing just 5min sessions, I eventually couldn't bear the thought of even picking them up, Grrrr!  I shall never again complain about doing ratlines.
 
 

 
 
 
On to more pleasant aspects. I cleaned up the hull ready for the second planking, I sealed and painted the area around the gun ports as this will now be a finished surface. I shaped the stem to fit the hull, and fitted a couple of dowels for attaching it later, these will determine the exact location and add strength to the joint. I saw this idea on one of your logs and thought that it made sense. Once in place I was able to determine the correct angle for the bowsprit, I drilled out the 10mm hole for it. I am not going to fit the stem, keel or sternpost until after the planking is complete. I have temporarily attached a ply strip the same size as the keel to give me the correct width to butt up to, when the planking is finished I'll remove it and hopefully slot the keel into its place. At the bow I'll cut a slot in the planks and fit the stem into that. I know that this doesn't seem to be the normal way of doing it but I fancy that it might work quite well for me.
 
The purists out there will probably wring your hands when I say that I have no planking plan or sequence that I am going to adhere to I'll just put one plank down and work it out from there one plank at a time. My aim is to have neat good tight joins with no unseemly gaps between the planks and hopefully a reasonable flow. I will fit the planks exactly between the ports leaving the appropriate recess so that there will be no need for trimming later. I intend to paint the lower hull when finished.
 
To that end I started with the first un tapered plank and fitted it just above the middle gun deck ports, this formed a neat top to the ports and seemed to me a good place to start, I am working both upwards and downwards from here.
 
On Thursday I'm going into hospital for what is now just a routine operation, I'll be back home within a week so no worries but it means a short building break. The good news is, no housework, shopping or gardening for a couple of weeks, I'm thinking lots of  modelling time with my wife bringing me loads of tea and cake. I think that this might be a good time to buy stuff that I would like whilst the sympathy lasts. Any ideas.
 
 
Ken
 
 

Without getting carried away with too many accolades to the various builders - who are doing some phenomenal work - of the RW (Royal William), I have been working quietly in the background adding parts of their various posts into my own work. This requires considerable editing but above all it has forced me to look at my own work and update that as well. So ... at the end of each month, I plan to have an update placed on the Euromodel website for this ship that will encompass everybody's work (like ... RW.04.HULL CONSTR.May 2017). At the risk of being repetitive, these notes/ files are only being written for others to freely use and that is my ONLY payment. So, thanks guys for allowing me to use your work - its just great fun to do !
Pete

Hello again.         
 
Here's my next update.
 
When I started this build I was told that due to the nature of this kit no two builds would be the same, well true to form here's another version.
 
As you are aware  I am not concerned with historical build accuracy, I just want to end up with a nice looking ship that resembles the Royal William, I just want to use the materials that I have available and to simplify the build as much as I can so to that end here's my version of the bow facia.

First I copied the plan version on to 0.5 ply then cut it to shape, I intended to build it off the model to be added later. I cut a length if 12mm dowel and halved it to be used for the roundhouses, I glued them into place along with the top casting and painted them. I wasn't going to use turned columns for the decor but I didn't want to leave the casting as plain as it was so I decided to bead across the top. I have a selection of shot weights used for fishing, I got these for canon balls on a previous build, these were ideal as they came in many different sizes, they are split for attaching to fishing line so were easily halved. I painted them gold and glued them into place, I think that they worked quite well. The upright pillars were made from 2x3mm walnut strip with the centre groove filed out, they were painted and fitted into place. I just glued on leftover deck planking to simulate the doors and used brass nails for the handles, I thought adding hinges would crowd the space so omitted them.
I cut into the ply to make the gunports and prised them open a little to give them more definition before adding some hinges and rope. I painted some plastic strips and added them to the bottom of the facia to give it a finished look.
 
Although it doesn't look like it I did use Bills, Marks and Petes'  images as a guide, it was knowing how it should finally look that lets you adapt it to how you want your build to appear without creating problems for yourself. So thanks guys.
 
 
Ken
 
 

Hi Bill,    Again you've come up trumps. Not only is your build and interpretation very good but also the way you have photographed it. Not only a good angle showing your build detail but the light and definition makes it like I'm actually there looking at it.
 
Many thanks again,
 
Ken

Hi Ken,
Hopefully the following images will be of help to you.  These are my interpretation of the bow area.  Most of my interpretation came from Pete's interpretation plus the wonderful builds on MSW.  I did not use some of the metal supplied in the kit when constructing the forecastle front bulkhead, rather opting for wood.
 
Regards,
Bill