BillLib

Hi Jack,
 
Here's one for you.  I've just finished the staircase and I'm in the process of photographing it, I'll put it all in my build log but here's how I did them. The first picture was taken by my wife, it is me taking the close up using my compact, the second is the result of my shot.
 
The first is my Canon 1Ds  with 24-105L lens.   ISO 1250  F5.6   1/200  aperture priority with -1/2 stop compensation. I can't use this lens for close up as it has no macro facility.
 
The close up was with my Panasonic Lumix G1 with their 20mm F1.7 fixed lens. I rested my hands on the rails and used aperture priority set at ISO 200  F 4  at 1/50
 
As you can see the G1 with that lens produces superb results, it has an automatic macro function. It's not cheap but it is the best small camera I have ever used, in many cases you can't see the difference between that and my very expensive canon except that it doesn't have the versatility. The 20mm lens equates to a 35mm in use, I don't need a zoom for it as it produces very good quality large images that can be cropped. I carry it with me on holiday and I've had good success in competitions using it.
 
I hope this helps.
 
 
Ken
 
 

 
 

Hello again.
 
Following up from yesterdays success I moved on to making up the upper quarter deck rails. Again I went for easy and my method proved easier than expected, from start to mounting on the deck took only an hour. I've shown step by step in my pics.
 
I copied the plan onto a piece of 1.5mm walnut ply, I put 3 x 0.5mm strips on both sides of the ply for the uprights then cut the arches and filed them to shape. I cut these out as a unit then added the 4 x 1.5mm rail at the top and glued the finished rails into place. They have been primed and need to be varnished.
 
Now for the dreaded curved staircase, I can't put it off much longer, not sure how I'm going to tackle it, it seems that everyone approaches these differently, I suppose I'll be the same.
 
The photos were taken with my small Panasonic Lumix, a 20mm 1.7 lens, handheld on auto.
 
 
Ken
 
 

 

 

 

 

A little update - taking a break from doing ratlines,I installed the topgallant shrouds. Still more ratlines to do.............
 

 

 

 
Mark

Hello Everyone.
 
Another progress report, this time the completion of the side rails. This was a part of the build that I thought would be a problem but as it turned out it was not as difficult as I had expected, just a lot of work. Again I'm very happy with the result.
 
Some comments.

You will be aware that I had built my sides about 4mm too low, this has caused slight issues, hopefully the last being the height of these rails. to get them to finish at the correct height at the fore deck the uprights needed to be 3mm taller but at the quarter deck the side height was correct so an extra 3mm would have looked wrong. I sized them so that the foredeck was correct then reduced them very gradually through the waist until they were near the correct height at the quarter deck. By doing this I didn't get a sudden change of height in any section and the transition isn't noticeable, when the shrouds and anchors are added at the fore deck the extra height hopefully wont be apparent. I felt that because of the different heights, angling them in at the top according to the plan would be very difficult so I opted to make them from straight 3x3mm strip to make things easier for me. On checking my recently acquired  plan I noticed that the rail uprights were not all angled in but only those aft of the waist, so at least I'm half right.
 
I felt that the rails might be vulnerable to a knock so I decided to pin them as well as gluing them into place. I used 2x4 strip for the top rail. As I mentioned I am very pleased with the result.
 
 
Ken
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Hi everyone - the lower shroud ratlines are now re-done. I am now happy with them & will continue upwards as soon as I get my eyes un-crossed.
 

 

 
Mark

Hello Everyone.
 
Once again thanks to everyone for your likes and kind encouraging comments on my log so far, it's good to know that members are enjoying my efforts.
 
I am now moving into my 5th month of the build and it now feels like part of my everyday life, I look forward to each days building and can't imagine being without it.
 
Today's progress report tells of the completion of the waist gangway, ladders, waist bitts, belfry and I think they're called breast rails.
 
Still encountering the effects of the low sides, the gangway is about 4mm too low, it isn't really noticeable unless you can imagine the height of the gun crew, they would have constant headaches banging their heads, the only solution that I can think of is that the next pressgang should round up all the dwarfs that it can, I think about 40 should do the trick.
 
The bitts and ladders were pretty standard fare. The belfry was built from the kits cast parts. I put a plinth under the belfry, it wasn't called for but it just looked more complete with one.
 
The rails are a feature of the foredeck so I was very disappointed that Euromodel did not show it on any of the planes or refer to it other than to show a plan view from above which only really showed the top rail. If it hadn't been for members previous builds I wouldn't have known what it even looked like or how to go about building it. It was made up of 31  pieces ( uprights, crosspieces and braces ) cut from supplied strip material, I had to guess the sizes to cut those pieces by looking at members photos of it, it wasn't really very difficult and looks okay now that it's done, I'm now getting use to making things for this model as I go along, it just seems to be a normal feature of the kit and is not causing me any insurmountable problems, YET.
 
I'm still using the compact for the pictures and I think it's ok. It does have some advantages over my SLR, first it works, the depth of field is much greater, it has a macro feature and given its size I can get it right down onto the deck, anyway you can see the results for yourselves.
 
 
Ken
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

Pete,
I'd also like to thank you for the work you put into those interpretive build instructions.  Great job!  I continually refer to those and Marks posts for ideas for my own build.  I'm still quite a ways from rigging, needing to finish installing the guns and some more work on the hull.  I'm not really a fast model ship builder, nor a slow one.  More of a half fast ship builder....
 
Bill

Hello Everyone,
 
Here's the pictures of my efforts on the foredeck. The front rails were assembled and painted, the bitts were made as per plan and the catheads were made, TWICE.
 
Due to an earlier mistake by me I hadn't made the sides high enough by about 4mm along the foredeck and waist area, you may remember from the fitting of the side decorations that they ended up too low, I was now facing the knock on effect of that.
 
On the plan the catheads go through the sides under the cast strip and about 5mm below the sides capping strip. As my sides were too low the catheads when in place came in just above the capping strip height. To get some sort of ok fitting  I cut a groove in the cathead so that the capping strip would pass over it. It didn't look great but I thought that as there would be rails above it and with a strategically placed coil of rope it wouldn't be readily noticed.
 
I then got hold of that plan and to my relief I saw that on it the capping strip would finish butted up and flush with the side of the cathead. This design would fit well into my lower sides so I stripped out my first effort and did just that and the result made that area much better. Again I'm happy with the way things are going, I only hope that there are no more surprises.
 
From time to time I been making up the canons so that I didn't end up with a load to do at once, they are now ready for rigging. Don't expect too much here as I'm only gong to rig them simply and quite basic.
 
 
Ken
 
 
 

Hi Ken,
I honestly don't remember any OH NO moments.  I do believe I've forgotten then all, but what remains is the learning experience of looking ahead for what can go wrong.
 
But I do have quite a few I'M AN IDIOT moments.  Those at least can be fixed easily or covered up to not be so obvious.
 
My last moment was on the decorations between the cheeks at the stem.  I was using a hot air gun to heat up the metal to make is a little more pliable for bending.  One went ok, the second I melted part of the decoration.  Well what does on do?  Order new ones from Euromodel?  Do a little carving for fill in the missing pieces? Maybe a little clay molding?  Or, what I did, work with what was left.  Gives me something to point out to people where I had an IDIOT moment.  I actually like to tell people it was and ID-10-T episode.
 
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
 

Hello Everyone, 
 
I left off having just finished the head gratings, here's the continuation.
 
The rails were far more difficult to build up than they first appeared. The cast pieces needed to be bent forming what were three dimensional curves and each in some sort of relation to the others so that they eventually fit together forming the structure, this was done by eye as there was only a 2D plan. I tried heating the castings with my solder iron, the heat it gave was too localised and I managed to snap the first top rail which caused me quite a problem. I ended up using a gas BBQ lighter to heat the casting, it was trial and error, too hot and they quickly melted, not hot enough and they snapped.
 
I eventually ended up with an acceptable structure. The uprights are made up again from cast strips which needed to be cut and angled to fit between each rail, I think that they would have been easier to cut and sand by using 4x4 wood strip instead. I painted them and then fitted that beautifully cast figurehead. 
 
When viewed closely it looks like it's made up from spaghetti, but from a pace away it kooks quite good.
 
It's like everything else on this build I am managing but feel that if I were able to do each section again I could easily improve them knowing what was needed and how it should be done, I think it's called a learning curve.
 
 
 
 
Ken
 

Hi Ken,
Looking good so far.  A couple of things you may want to consider.
 
I used blocks for the false guns.  When I made the blocks, they were not 90 degrees to the deck.  The deck is canted, so I made sure that there was a bit of an angle so the guns were at 90 degrees to the vertical axis of the ship.  I'm not sure how you would account for the deck cant with a strip, but you could use the same approach.
 
I also ended up framing each gun port.  That way I knew precisely where each gun port was located prior to installing the hull planking.  I also did that for some of the gun ports where the port would have been blocked by a bulkhead, by cutting out a portion of the bulkhead and framing it for the false gun blocks. 
 
Again, just for your consideration.
 
Regards,
Bill
 

Hello Everyone,     Another small update.  Today I nailed the wales to simulate bolts. I used Amati 7mm dome head nails which I first blackened. I think that it adds a bit more character to the hull sides, not that it needs it.
 
I followed Mark's example and got the bronze mast bases that he used, as Mark said he couldn't make them any better. They were from the Amati fittings range and all three together only cost just under £1 from Cornwall Model Boats.
 
 
Ken
 
 
 

Hello Again,         A few snaps of todays work, painted wales and upper strakes.
 
 
Ken
 
 

Hello Everyone,  
 
I've managed to squeeze in some building time whilst watching the Tour so here's the latest progress report.
 
This part is about my experience with the castings along the side of the hull. They ended up looking very impressive, better than I had first expected and once again I'm pleased with what Euromodel had done here especially with old technology.
 
I first copied the relevant part of the plans to help identify and make sense of the many cast parts. The casting was crisp and very good indeed needing little cleaning. Most of the pieces needed adjusting to make them a good fit, on some I cut out the figures themselves and fixed them into position separately. Once the fit was established I cut out the gun ports in them. I found doing all this difficult as the many parts needed to be accurately held in place without glue so that the cutting and filing resulted in a good fit.
 
That's the good part, now the not so good. I had made the hull as near to the plan as possible thinking that was the right thing to do, however when I offered up the castings along the waist I saw that they did not match up with the plan by a fair amount!  The lower trim of the casting should have lined up with the centre of the gun ports, my castings were not the same as the plans but were too deep by about 5mm and ended up level with the lower edge of the gun ports. It was not possible to reduce their height, I had the choice of putting them on as they were or adding to the height of the sides. Not knowing how raising the height would effect the rest of the castings I mounted them as they were. With that wonderful thing called hindsight I should have, when building the hull made the planking higher then, after putting on the castings sanded it level with them. I can live with it as they look good and only those that are in the know will notice anything wrong.
 
I painted all the castings gold and painted the hull behind them black before fixing them into place. I scraped the paint away from the glue contact surfaces so that a good bond would be made. After they were fitted I rubbed a little filler into the joints then touched up the paintwork.
 
I fitted the rail capping using 4 x 1 mm strip, using my soldering iron to get the curved ends, again it worked well.
 
I also touched up the red port linings as they were looking a bit jaded and cleaned up the hull. I also couldn't resist putting on a first coat of diluted poly. I wanted to see how it would take after all the glue that had been spilt on it before deciding whether to paint bellow the water line or not.  The good news is that it went on perfectly with no staining issues, just a lovely even colour of the wood, looks great so the decision is made, natural wood finish. There are no pictures of this stage yet, I'm waiting until it's properly dry before I handle it.
 
I have decided not to use the stand provided so got I nice piece of mahogany to use as a plinth, I'll sort out some columns as well to stand it on. I know I should have arranged a fastening in the keel for this at an early stage but I'm sure that I can come up with something pretty secure.  Watch this space.
 
 
Ken
 

Hi everyone,another overdue update. All the topmast shrouds are now done. The camera is brutal,but they look ok from a foot away. I have also started doing some of the ratlines for a change of pace. Cow hitches were used on the end shrouds,with clove hitches on all the others. This may take some time...............
 

 

 

 

 

 
Mark

Hello Everyone,
 
Just a little more progress, bit by bit it's getting done.
 
I have now finished the upper strakes, nothing of interest to report there. I then did the side fenders, I always try and find an easy way to do things and the fenders were no exception. They are made from 3x5mm walnut, I felt that these would be extremely difficult to bend to the shape of the hull, some builders make up templates and cut them from larger stock to shape, most soak them for a long time, but that would still be difficult to bend. I decided to use 3x2mm strip instead, using two, layered for each fender, sticking one down and then the other on top. Being much thinner they were easy to bend to shape without any soaking or aids and when done and sanded you would be hard pressed to tell that they weren't one piece, it was simple. I stained them a dark oak again for the contrast. 
 
Photos shows the results.
 
I'm sorry to say that I'll be doing much less building for a few weeks so there'll be fewer posts. I'm a keen club cyclist and until recently still raced as an amateur so you will understand that whilst the Tour de France is on I will be giving that my full attention.
 
 
Ken
 
 
 

Hello Everyone, 
 
Here's the result of the refurb. You know what I was doing so this is just checking out through pictures how it turned out. The glazing in the windows I did the way Bill suggested, a blob of glue on a cocktail stick and twirled it about inside the frame, it worked well and will be how I do it in the future. The painting was not too difficult, just awkward but the stern has regained its lustre and I reckon I've got it pretty close to how it was before the incident, I recon Nelson couldn't tell the difference.
 
Just so that I feel I've made progress with the build I've also put on the middle wales. I stained these dark oak to give them contrast against the hull. I'll paint the main wales black and put in blackened dome headed nails in both wales.
 
The finish on the hull has come out pretty good and at the moment I'm leaning towards just a poly finish, showing the wood.
 
 
Ken

Hi Ken,
I honestly don't remember any OH NO moments.  I do believe I've forgotten then all, but what remains is the learning experience of looking ahead for what can go wrong.
 
But I do have quite a few I'M AN IDIOT moments.  Those at least can be fixed easily or covered up to not be so obvious.
 
My last moment was on the decorations between the cheeks at the stem.  I was using a hot air gun to heat up the metal to make is a little more pliable for bending.  One went ok, the second I melted part of the decoration.  Well what does on do?  Order new ones from Euromodel?  Do a little carving for fill in the missing pieces? Maybe a little clay molding?  Or, what I did, work with what was left.  Gives me something to point out to people where I had an IDIOT moment.  I actually like to tell people it was and ID-10-T episode.
 
Bill

Hi Ken,
I honestly don't remember any OH NO moments.  I do believe I've forgotten then all, but what remains is the learning experience of looking ahead for what can go wrong.
 
But I do have quite a few I'M AN IDIOT moments.  Those at least can be fixed easily or covered up to not be so obvious.
 
My last moment was on the decorations between the cheeks at the stem.  I was using a hot air gun to heat up the metal to make is a little more pliable for bending.  One went ok, the second I melted part of the decoration.  Well what does on do?  Order new ones from Euromodel?  Do a little carving for fill in the missing pieces? Maybe a little clay molding?  Or, what I did, work with what was left.  Gives me something to point out to people where I had an IDIOT moment.  I actually like to tell people it was and ID-10-T episode.
 
Bill

Hello Everyone,   
 
Thanks for both your likes and commiserations. Here in the dockyard life goes on so here is a bit of catch up.
 
Before the incident I fitted the main wales which were made up from three strips of 2x7mm walnut. I put these into a flask of boiling water to soak for about three hours whilst I went and had a game of bowls. I marked out their position relative to the lower gunports then turned my attention to bending these strips. My preferred method is after soaking I use my heavy duty soldering iron clamped in a vice, I grip the strip between both hands leaving about an inch between. I hold the strip on the shaft of the iron with a little downward pressure, nothing happens initially but there comes a moment when the wood suddenly becomes soft and pliable, it will readily bend or twist to any shape, I think that it's as the internal moisture turns to steam and the resins soften. This state only lasts about a second before the wood dries, leaving it in place any longer doesn't help and there is a chance of charring the wood, lift it off whilst it is still moist. I then move it along about 1/2" and continue the bend. I have the hull to hand and keep checking that I'm getting the bend correct. I have tried using a curved block the Amati way but I found that this dried and charred the wood, as you can see in my picture my method gives a good clean curve with no charring and it is quick and easy. Using this method the wales on both sides took less than an hour to fit using my Cyno planking method,  but do make sure the top is secure!
 
Now to the recovery of the hull.  I sanded off what I believe is all the hardened Cyno from the hull and went as deep as I dared, to get a uniform finish I then sanded the rest of the hull, as I had previously stained it I needed to take enough off to get to just plain wood. The area effected had different colour streaks in the grain so to try and get some colour consistency I tested some stains and found that light oak gave the best result, so used this giving the hull a couple of well rubbed in coats. It came out much better than expected. I rounded the upper and lower edge of the wales then gave the hull a coat of sanding sealer. HA, HA!  I now prefer the colour and finished look over my previous one, there are very, very slight variations in shade as you would have expected and the grain is showing up more, it looks like very subtle well done ageing.
 
The grin is coming back.
 
I've decided that the galleries will need major work done to bring them back to their former glory and I'm not going to shy away from doing what's needed, but that's another story.
 
 
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
 

Hello,   You lucky guys out there are getting a second post today.  I'm having a short pause in the build but I'm so pleased with the the way that the castings are coming out I wanted to show you all.
 
As you know the castings on this kit are beautiful and I wanted to show them off at there best. I cleaned them up and painted them with Tamiya gold leaf acrylic, when done they looked good but somehow a little flat in their colour so I then tried a wash, a little well diluted sepia painted into the recesses to give it some shadow type look to show their depth. I did one figure first and was very pleased with the result so continued and did all the castings. The first picture shows a comparison, with and without, the second shows the remaining stern castings done.
 
 
Ken
 
 

 

Hello Everyone,            Everything is going well with the stern,  here's the latest.
 
 
I assembled the first level of balustrade from the cast parts supplied, they went together the same as the earlier ones that I'd made, easy but fiddly. I painted and fitted them into place, the two halves when in place fitted well. I had already glazed the side windows, these were now painted and fitted, they to were a good fit. I'd earlier decided to keep the colour scheme very simple, for the outer just black and gold, even though it probably isn't correct I prefer the aesthetics of simple colour contrasts and for me it works.
 
I assembled the next level of balustrade, I painted the small decorative inserts first before putting them in then painted the rest. There were two cross members in the ply for support but when I offered the piece up the top one made the handrail look too thick and was not really needed as with the lower support and the side area there was plenty of contact for strength.
 
The next piece was a decorative strip with two small side windows, this casting had a bar at both the top and bottom. When I offered it up the lower bar which rested on the handrail below looked unusual, checking it against the plan I saw that this bottom part of the casting was not wanted, I think that it was there for the casting process and left for support when handling I cut this bar away it then fitted in well and looked ok as per plan. Once I was sure I painted and fitted this piece.
 
Next will be the cherry on the cake, lots of decorative figurines, big heavy and quite impressive.
 
 
 
Ken.
 
 
 

 

Hello Everyone,   
 
Again thanks to you all for your likes and kind comments.
 
Yes Scott those castings are quite heavy, they feel as if there's a large lead content. I checked into your Freisland log and agree with you that it's a very attractive ship, it's coming along nicely and at what a speed.
 
My latest working was fitting the top level of windows into the transom, I had already painted and glazed them and wanted them fitted before I attached the transom. I had visions of me pushing them in too far and loosing them forever if I had put them in later. I glue and screwed the transom into place, it's very secure and isn't going to fall off ever. I finished painting the transom using a none shiny black. I am now making up the balustrades, again from the kit parts. It's really coming together nicely now, this is like the icing on the cake to me and the trials of the side galleries was worth the effort.
 
 
 
Ken