Moonbug

Moving onto the foremast - don't ask why I am doing the foremast ahead of the main. There's no real logical explanation, except I mis-measured the length of the shrouds needed for the main and they were a bit too short - however, just the right size for the fore mast.  So I went with the foremast next.  Shrouds are the same - no mystery here; the foremost served it's length and the others served a few feet down from the heads to the hounds. The aftmost line being the backstay and attaching to the smaller deadeye aft of the others.
 
 
 

 
One thing worth noting as I rigged these upper shrouds.  The plastic hooks I'm using at the futtocks were NOT very strong - and on more than one occasion tightening the deadeye lanyards caused these plastic hooks to separate from the deadeye chains.  A bit of a pain. Had I to do this again, I'd forego the plastic hooks and manufacture my own out of stiff wire or a suitable substitute. As it stood I needed to provide tension on the deadeye lanyards very carefully alternating from port to starboard until all was even and consistent.
 
The fore stay and preventer stay are similar to other stays as well.  The Stay is 5" (.65mm) and the Preventer is 4" (.50mm) and they both extend down to the sheaves in the bee blocks. Worth noting - the preventer stay is wrapped above the stay on the mast head.  Down at the bee blocks, the stay goes through the aft starboard sheave and ends fitted with a violin block that has a lanyard connecting to a 7" single block stropped to an eyebolt in the knighthead.
 
 
 

 
The preventer stay takes the same route, except through the foremost sheave on the port side of the bee blocks. It ends the same with the violin block and lanyard attached to the single block and knighthead.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Moving onto the foremast - don't ask why I am doing the foremast ahead of the main. There's no real logical explanation, except I mis-measured the length of the shrouds needed for the main and they were a bit too short - however, just the right size for the fore mast.  So I went with the foremast next.  Shrouds are the same - no mystery here; the foremost served it's length and the others served a few feet down from the heads to the hounds. The aftmost line being the backstay and attaching to the smaller deadeye aft of the others.
 
 
 

 
One thing worth noting as I rigged these upper shrouds.  The plastic hooks I'm using at the futtocks were NOT very strong - and on more than one occasion tightening the deadeye lanyards caused these plastic hooks to separate from the deadeye chains.  A bit of a pain. Had I to do this again, I'd forego the plastic hooks and manufacture my own out of stiff wire or a suitable substitute. As it stood I needed to provide tension on the deadeye lanyards very carefully alternating from port to starboard until all was even and consistent.
 
The fore stay and preventer stay are similar to other stays as well.  The Stay is 5" (.65mm) and the Preventer is 4" (.50mm) and they both extend down to the sheaves in the bee blocks. Worth noting - the preventer stay is wrapped above the stay on the mast head.  Down at the bee blocks, the stay goes through the aft starboard sheave and ends fitted with a violin block that has a lanyard connecting to a 7" single block stropped to an eyebolt in the knighthead.
 
 
 

 
The preventer stay takes the same route, except through the foremost sheave on the port side of the bee blocks. It ends the same with the violin block and lanyard attached to the single block and knighthead.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Moving onto the foremast - don't ask why I am doing the foremast ahead of the main. There's no real logical explanation, except I mis-measured the length of the shrouds needed for the main and they were a bit too short - however, just the right size for the fore mast.  So I went with the foremast next.  Shrouds are the same - no mystery here; the foremost served it's length and the others served a few feet down from the heads to the hounds. The aftmost line being the backstay and attaching to the smaller deadeye aft of the others.
 
 
 

 
One thing worth noting as I rigged these upper shrouds.  The plastic hooks I'm using at the futtocks were NOT very strong - and on more than one occasion tightening the deadeye lanyards caused these plastic hooks to separate from the deadeye chains.  A bit of a pain. Had I to do this again, I'd forego the plastic hooks and manufacture my own out of stiff wire or a suitable substitute. As it stood I needed to provide tension on the deadeye lanyards very carefully alternating from port to starboard until all was even and consistent.
 
The fore stay and preventer stay are similar to other stays as well.  The Stay is 5" (.65mm) and the Preventer is 4" (.50mm) and they both extend down to the sheaves in the bee blocks. Worth noting - the preventer stay is wrapped above the stay on the mast head.  Down at the bee blocks, the stay goes through the aft starboard sheave and ends fitted with a violin block that has a lanyard connecting to a 7" single block stropped to an eyebolt in the knighthead.
 
 
 

 
The preventer stay takes the same route, except through the foremost sheave on the port side of the bee blocks. It ends the same with the violin block and lanyard attached to the single block and knighthead.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The mizzen topmast stay represented another decision point.  Based on both Steel and The Fully Framed Model there were a couple of different options regarding how this stay was rigged to the mainmast.  Steel has the stay extending to a thimble below the topmast and reeved through a couple of thimbles lashed around the main mast just below the catharpins and rigged together by a lanyard. This is also displayed in TFFM's illustrations. However, another option showed in Dan Vadas' Vulture and described as an alternative in TFFM has the stay extending through the block at/above the topmast then feeding down the length of the main mast to a pair of blocks connected by a lanyard and hooked into an eyebolt at the base of the mast. This is the method I'm opting to use as it is a cleaner look to me. 
 
Either way, the mizzen stay is 3" (.38mm at scale) and I used .15mm for the lanyard.  Block first - the typical arrangement with a served line lashed to the mainmast.
 
 
 
I knew this was going to be a very tight area to rig at the base of the mainmast with the water pumps and half a dozen other things populating the area.  My plan was to seize the hook to the bottom block, seize the block to the end of the stay, attach a loose lanyard, hook the line, then tighten the lanyard. This plan was moderately successful, but still took a combination of my dental loops, my longest narrowest tweezers, and an abundance of patience to accomplish.
 
 
 
The bottom hook is attached to the aftmost eyebolt on the starboard side. A look at the final arrangement - apologies for the slightly out of focus shot of the lower block rigging, but it was a little challenging getting a lens to pick up what I needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

Log #86: The Cat Falls & Topgallant Backstays
I continue to pick away at a bunch of outstanding lines and small projects on the model. I tend to work on whatever inspires me in the moment from my list of potential tasks.
 
First up on this list were the topgallant backstays. Now it is not clear to me if these actually would have been fitted on alert and in some logs people have decided to omit them. Steel does include them in the list of ropes, but that is a bit later, but they don’t appear on the hawk and this is another case of Goodwin’s commentary not matching his drawings.
 
In the end I decided to include them as this is the arrangement both the kit plans and Goodwin depict and I have already somewhat committed to following them up to this point. Also I feel the top of the model looks somewhat “naked” if the topgallant stays are not included.

Steel calls for 2 in rope which equates to 0.32mm diameter at our scale. I used 0.35mm rope seized with fly tying thread. The kit depicts these stays simply tied on to the channels. Goodwin is not clear on how they are attached. I decided that I would treat them in a similar manner to the running backstays, just hook them onto the channels.

I also decided that I would start work on the cat falls. Steel calls for 12in double block which equats to 4.8mm at our scale. I decided to use a 5mm block. To make the blocks I scratch built the hooks using the brass pins from the kit and the iron strapping was done with the black paper in the kit.

I then painted all the iron in a similar manner to how I painted the ironwork on the anchor.

The rope is stated to be 3in cir, 0.38mm at our scale. However, I decided to round up to 0.45mm for the rope. I felt the 0.35mm rope looked a bit small compared to the 5mm block and I wanted to differentiate these slightly larger ropes from the other smaller ones near them.

I have not decided quite yet where to tie off the cat falls so for the moment I have it wrapped around one of the posts for the swivel guns.
 
And here is the current state of affairs (taken before I attached the cat falls).

The mizzen topmast stay represented another decision point.  Based on both Steel and The Fully Framed Model there were a couple of different options regarding how this stay was rigged to the mainmast.  Steel has the stay extending to a thimble below the topmast and reeved through a couple of thimbles lashed around the main mast just below the catharpins and rigged together by a lanyard. This is also displayed in TFFM's illustrations. However, another option showed in Dan Vadas' Vulture and described as an alternative in TFFM has the stay extending through the block at/above the topmast then feeding down the length of the main mast to a pair of blocks connected by a lanyard and hooked into an eyebolt at the base of the mast. This is the method I'm opting to use as it is a cleaner look to me. 
 
Either way, the mizzen stay is 3" (.38mm at scale) and I used .15mm for the lanyard.  Block first - the typical arrangement with a served line lashed to the mainmast.
 
 
 
I knew this was going to be a very tight area to rig at the base of the mainmast with the water pumps and half a dozen other things populating the area.  My plan was to seize the hook to the bottom block, seize the block to the end of the stay, attach a loose lanyard, hook the line, then tighten the lanyard. This plan was moderately successful, but still took a combination of my dental loops, my longest narrowest tweezers, and an abundance of patience to accomplish.
 
 
 
The bottom hook is attached to the aftmost eyebolt on the starboard side. A look at the final arrangement - apologies for the slightly out of focus shot of the lower block rigging, but it was a little challenging getting a lens to pick up what I needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

The mizzen topmast stay represented another decision point.  Based on both Steel and The Fully Framed Model there were a couple of different options regarding how this stay was rigged to the mainmast.  Steel has the stay extending to a thimble below the topmast and reeved through a couple of thimbles lashed around the main mast just below the catharpins and rigged together by a lanyard. This is also displayed in TFFM's illustrations. However, another option showed in Dan Vadas' Vulture and described as an alternative in TFFM has the stay extending through the block at/above the topmast then feeding down the length of the main mast to a pair of blocks connected by a lanyard and hooked into an eyebolt at the base of the mast. This is the method I'm opting to use as it is a cleaner look to me. 
 
Either way, the mizzen stay is 3" (.38mm at scale) and I used .15mm for the lanyard.  Block first - the typical arrangement with a served line lashed to the mainmast.
 
 
 
I knew this was going to be a very tight area to rig at the base of the mainmast with the water pumps and half a dozen other things populating the area.  My plan was to seize the hook to the bottom block, seize the block to the end of the stay, attach a loose lanyard, hook the line, then tighten the lanyard. This plan was moderately successful, but still took a combination of my dental loops, my longest narrowest tweezers, and an abundance of patience to accomplish.
 
 
 
The bottom hook is attached to the aftmost eyebolt on the starboard side. A look at the final arrangement - apologies for the slightly out of focus shot of the lower block rigging, but it was a little challenging getting a lens to pick up what I needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

The mizzen topmast stay represented another decision point.  Based on both Steel and The Fully Framed Model there were a couple of different options regarding how this stay was rigged to the mainmast.  Steel has the stay extending to a thimble below the topmast and reeved through a couple of thimbles lashed around the main mast just below the catharpins and rigged together by a lanyard. This is also displayed in TFFM's illustrations. However, another option showed in Dan Vadas' Vulture and described as an alternative in TFFM has the stay extending through the block at/above the topmast then feeding down the length of the main mast to a pair of blocks connected by a lanyard and hooked into an eyebolt at the base of the mast. This is the method I'm opting to use as it is a cleaner look to me. 
 
Either way, the mizzen stay is 3" (.38mm at scale) and I used .15mm for the lanyard.  Block first - the typical arrangement with a served line lashed to the mainmast.
 
 
 
I knew this was going to be a very tight area to rig at the base of the mainmast with the water pumps and half a dozen other things populating the area.  My plan was to seize the hook to the bottom block, seize the block to the end of the stay, attach a loose lanyard, hook the line, then tighten the lanyard. This plan was moderately successful, but still took a combination of my dental loops, my longest narrowest tweezers, and an abundance of patience to accomplish.
 
 
 
The bottom hook is attached to the aftmost eyebolt on the starboard side. A look at the final arrangement - apologies for the slightly out of focus shot of the lower block rigging, but it was a little challenging getting a lens to pick up what I needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

The mizzen topmast stay represented another decision point.  Based on both Steel and The Fully Framed Model there were a couple of different options regarding how this stay was rigged to the mainmast.  Steel has the stay extending to a thimble below the topmast and reeved through a couple of thimbles lashed around the main mast just below the catharpins and rigged together by a lanyard. This is also displayed in TFFM's illustrations. However, another option showed in Dan Vadas' Vulture and described as an alternative in TFFM has the stay extending through the block at/above the topmast then feeding down the length of the main mast to a pair of blocks connected by a lanyard and hooked into an eyebolt at the base of the mast. This is the method I'm opting to use as it is a cleaner look to me. 
 
Either way, the mizzen stay is 3" (.38mm at scale) and I used .15mm for the lanyard.  Block first - the typical arrangement with a served line lashed to the mainmast.
 
 
 
I knew this was going to be a very tight area to rig at the base of the mainmast with the water pumps and half a dozen other things populating the area.  My plan was to seize the hook to the bottom block, seize the block to the end of the stay, attach a loose lanyard, hook the line, then tighten the lanyard. This plan was moderately successful, but still took a combination of my dental loops, my longest narrowest tweezers, and an abundance of patience to accomplish.
 
 
 
The bottom hook is attached to the aftmost eyebolt on the starboard side. A look at the final arrangement - apologies for the slightly out of focus shot of the lower block rigging, but it was a little challenging getting a lens to pick up what I needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

The mizzen topmast stay represented another decision point.  Based on both Steel and The Fully Framed Model there were a couple of different options regarding how this stay was rigged to the mainmast.  Steel has the stay extending to a thimble below the topmast and reeved through a couple of thimbles lashed around the main mast just below the catharpins and rigged together by a lanyard. This is also displayed in TFFM's illustrations. However, another option showed in Dan Vadas' Vulture and described as an alternative in TFFM has the stay extending through the block at/above the topmast then feeding down the length of the main mast to a pair of blocks connected by a lanyard and hooked into an eyebolt at the base of the mast. This is the method I'm opting to use as it is a cleaner look to me. 
 
Either way, the mizzen stay is 3" (.38mm at scale) and I used .15mm for the lanyard.  Block first - the typical arrangement with a served line lashed to the mainmast.
 
 
 
I knew this was going to be a very tight area to rig at the base of the mainmast with the water pumps and half a dozen other things populating the area.  My plan was to seize the hook to the bottom block, seize the block to the end of the stay, attach a loose lanyard, hook the line, then tighten the lanyard. This plan was moderately successful, but still took a combination of my dental loops, my longest narrowest tweezers, and an abundance of patience to accomplish.
 
 
 
The bottom hook is attached to the aftmost eyebolt on the starboard side. A look at the final arrangement - apologies for the slightly out of focus shot of the lower block rigging, but it was a little challenging getting a lens to pick up what I needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

The mizzen topmast stay represented another decision point.  Based on both Steel and The Fully Framed Model there were a couple of different options regarding how this stay was rigged to the mainmast.  Steel has the stay extending to a thimble below the topmast and reeved through a couple of thimbles lashed around the main mast just below the catharpins and rigged together by a lanyard. This is also displayed in TFFM's illustrations. However, another option showed in Dan Vadas' Vulture and described as an alternative in TFFM has the stay extending through the block at/above the topmast then feeding down the length of the main mast to a pair of blocks connected by a lanyard and hooked into an eyebolt at the base of the mast. This is the method I'm opting to use as it is a cleaner look to me. 
 
Either way, the mizzen stay is 3" (.38mm at scale) and I used .15mm for the lanyard.  Block first - the typical arrangement with a served line lashed to the mainmast.
 
 
 
I knew this was going to be a very tight area to rig at the base of the mainmast with the water pumps and half a dozen other things populating the area.  My plan was to seize the hook to the bottom block, seize the block to the end of the stay, attach a loose lanyard, hook the line, then tighten the lanyard. This plan was moderately successful, but still took a combination of my dental loops, my longest narrowest tweezers, and an abundance of patience to accomplish.
 
 
 
The bottom hook is attached to the aftmost eyebolt on the starboard side. A look at the final arrangement - apologies for the slightly out of focus shot of the lower block rigging, but it was a little challenging getting a lens to pick up what I needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

The mizzen topmast stay represented another decision point.  Based on both Steel and The Fully Framed Model there were a couple of different options regarding how this stay was rigged to the mainmast.  Steel has the stay extending to a thimble below the topmast and reeved through a couple of thimbles lashed around the main mast just below the catharpins and rigged together by a lanyard. This is also displayed in TFFM's illustrations. However, another option showed in Dan Vadas' Vulture and described as an alternative in TFFM has the stay extending through the block at/above the topmast then feeding down the length of the main mast to a pair of blocks connected by a lanyard and hooked into an eyebolt at the base of the mast. This is the method I'm opting to use as it is a cleaner look to me. 
 
Either way, the mizzen stay is 3" (.38mm at scale) and I used .15mm for the lanyard.  Block first - the typical arrangement with a served line lashed to the mainmast.
 
 
 
I knew this was going to be a very tight area to rig at the base of the mainmast with the water pumps and half a dozen other things populating the area.  My plan was to seize the hook to the bottom block, seize the block to the end of the stay, attach a loose lanyard, hook the line, then tighten the lanyard. This plan was moderately successful, but still took a combination of my dental loops, my longest narrowest tweezers, and an abundance of patience to accomplish.
 
 
 
The bottom hook is attached to the aftmost eyebolt on the starboard side. A look at the final arrangement - apologies for the slightly out of focus shot of the lower block rigging, but it was a little challenging getting a lens to pick up what I needed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

The euphroes and crows feet ended up being way more finicky than I anticipated.  Yikes.  First of all, they're pretty darn small at the 1/64 scale.  The fore and main are supposed to be just over 6mm at scale with the mizzen at a little less than 5mm.  I quickly determined that I wasn't going to be able to do that and get the holes I needed drilled, so instead I went about creating the euphroes the other way around. Boxwood is a must for these parts as they are very small and delicate.  I drilled the smallest diameter holes I could get, as close as feasible, and let the overall length of the euphroes determine themselves. Six holes for the mizzen, 10 holes for the fore and main. The mizzen ended up at about 7mm, and the fore and main at about 10mm.
 
 
 

 
The edges were cut using my thinnest pin file to make room for the serving. An eye is served, then the euphroe wrapped, then a 3mm block, then another eye.  The block-end of the euphroes are seized to the stays for each mast. I started with the idea of serving it by feeding a line through the stay and wrapping it. This is how I did the mizzen.  But this ended up not being the best method.
 

 
The reason is because of how difficult it is to maintain the tension on the crows feet balanced with the euphroes.  If you tighten the crow's feet too much, it pulls on the stay until it is out of place. If you keep too much tension on the stay, when you loosen it, all the crows feet relax and are askew. I hung a clip off of the stay to keep it reasonably taught for the mizzen until I could rove all the crows through. Which, in itself, is not an easy task without snagging just about every fitting on the ship.
  
 
Finally getting a balance took several tries and much adjusting.  What I decided to do with the other masts, was to keep every seizing and knot loose until the crow's feet were roved through - then I could tighten the blocks and each component individually until tension was maintain and the stays were not distorted.  Once again, using a clip to loosely hang off the stay was helpful, but being able to adjust the block that is seized along the stay was most beneficial. 
 

 
Using this method - it didn't take quite as long to get a decent result on the main and foremasts. 
 
 
 

 

I took a break from ratlines this morning to work on some shroud cleats that I'll need soon.  My inspiration for how to do these came from a variation of Dan Vadas.  I started with a 4m thick by 10mm wide strip of this random (not sure what it is) hardwood that came from an extra cheeseboard the Admiral got rid of. 
 
 
 
First, I added a slightly thicker (just under 2mm wide) blade on the table saw to notch the sides deeply and the top shallow. The top is shaped with a round sanding tool then a round needle file. 
 
 
 
Varying degrees of VERY light sanding is down to create some shape to the grooves before I switch back to my thinnest table saw blade to cut over 30 cleats at 2mm thick each.  If you're going to follow a similar method - make at least a handful more than you need as quite a few don't survive the process; particularly at this scale.
 
 
 
After the they're cut, the individual cleats are then subject to even more delicate sanding to round out the edges.  More are lost to this process as well regardless of how gently I apply 600 - 1000 grit sand paper. Each survivor is then dipped into water based wipe on poly to provide a modicum of strength for later rigging then left to dry.  
 
 
 
Here's a final product seized to the main foremost shroud to see how it looks.  I mounted it by sticking it in place with the barest touch to CA before seizing it with .10mm line. 
 

 
  I ended up with 28 or so workable cleats, which should be a couple more than I need.  I actually had a pretty difficult time determining exactly how many I'd need. After scouring the FFM images I have, as well as some Swan logs here, I finally came up with a total of 26 - though it appears not all of them are rigged when all is said and done.  Here's my list (applies to both port and starboard sides):
 
Mizzen, Main, and Fore tops  - the first two aft shrouds (12 total). Lower Mizzen - the foremost shroud (2). Lower Fore - the foremost three shrouds (6 total). Lower Main - the first two foremost shrouds and the fourth shroud (6 total).  If someone (maybe one of the Swan experts @dvm27, @Blue Ensign, or @chris watton?) has a solid reference on how many shroud cleats are used and where they're used - I'd appreciate it greatly.
 
 
 
 
 

Just a couple of shots of the upper masts repainted (the mizzen top at least) and fitted in place with the fids. 
 

 
 
 
 

As for what else I've been doing - I decided to order and fiddle with the new crew being sold by Artesania Latina.
 

 
They're not (in my opinion) as well crafted as the Amati Crew that I displayed in this post #207, but still fun to paint and have around.  After a few days of painting I scattered them along the Pegasus (along with the Amati crew) just for a fun distraction before getting back to shrouds. Oh - and for the record, I added the thin little plastic pieces cut out and glued to their feet for easier standing / posing.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Before the upper shrouds can be rigged, the upper burton pedants have to be laid over the mast heads. The upper burton pendants are done basically the same as the lower ones with a couple of exceptions - they're only on the main and fore masts and they're a bit smaller. So instead of using the little nuts I shaved down for the lowers, I used a brass tube notched, cut, and sanded. The line is listed as 3", so I'm using .35mm served it's length and then tied with eyes around the thimbles. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Jibboom is pretty straight forward, though a little delicate at 2mm toward the tip.  I started with a 4mm diameter dowel and shaved an octagon into the base as I'd done with the other masts.  This time however, I documented a little closer how I do it.  I mark the dowel and put it in the vise, then I cut the mark with a razor to prevent myself from shaving off too much wood. Then I use the mini chisel to shave a sliver at a time until I get the flat portion I need.  I rotate the dowel to do four opposite sides, then shave off the remaining corners to create the octagon.  Finally, I touch it up with the hand held miniature sander.
 
 
 
 
 
As I mentioned, the walnut is pretty soft, so this still comes out as "octagon-esque" and not as clean as it would with boxwood or something similar - but not terrible in my estimation.  After the chiseling it goes into the lathe for shaping and sizing. The shoulder is cut and shaped on the outboard end. Once removed from the lathe the two sheaves are simulated (one at the base the other near the shoulder) with two holes drilled and a notch cut between the holes. Finally, it's given a couple coats of paint and wipe on poly.
 
 
 
I've dry fit the jibboom to make sure it fits, looks good etc.  I won't mount and rig it permanently until I absolutely need to of course, as the jibboom remains the number one snagging hazard on the ship during rigging. 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Just a couple of shots of the upper masts repainted (the mizzen top at least) and fitted in place with the fids. 
 

 
 
 
 

The cheek blocks on the upper masts are so small that they definitely need to be made from boxwood, as nothing else I have will lend itself to this level of sanding and shaping. First, I took a 1 mm by 2mm strip of boxwood and put it on my Byrnes saw with a slightly thicker black adjusted all the way to do some milling. I cut a couple of notches in the strip, then sliced off 1.5 mm strips to create the cheek blocks. The sheaves are made from thicker pins / nails cut off at 2.5mm lengths. Holes are drilled in the sides of the cheeks and the sheaves are slid into the holes.  I did mount these sheaves a little lower in the cheek block slots instead of the center to make sure I have enough room to feed a line when it becomes necessary.
 
 
 

 
 
 

It has been a few days since I've posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been hard at work int he shipyard.  I started the topmast journey so I could get the upper standing rigging underway. Not long before I went on my hiatus, I'd done the extra top masts that are mounted on the deck as practice - back in post #255.  The problem was, that had been such a time ago that I'd forgotten much. The good news - I kept decent notes.  I have also since then printed my Swan reference for the masts, yards, and spars.  The one on top is resized from 1:48 to 1:64.   One point of learning for me - as we all know, I've been following Dan Vadas' vulture - which has three t'gallant masts. However, other Pegasus builds and swan builds only have two t'gallant masts with the mizzen only having top mast.  My reference schematic from TFFM have three laid out.  It took me a while to find the addendum note in TFFM that explains the third t'gallant mast on Swan class ships didn't occur until the 1790's.  So my 1776 version will only have two.
 

 
Some minor adjustments were made to my "practice" masts and a fair amount of math was done then I hit the lathe.  For the Fore and Main top masts I decided to go with a larger diameter round mast and square off the bottom and shape rather than start with a square.  This is done for a couple of reasons - but mostly because I have a limited supply of lumber, and a VERY limited supply of the harder woods such as boxwood, etc.  So I am using the dowels that come with the kit - good quality, but definitely softer.
 
 
 
 As you can see above (and remembering my practice run), the top masts are broken down into several sections starting with an octagonal section, squaring off where the fids are located, moving into octagonal again, then rounding and tapering toward the top. Another octagonal section will house the upper crosstrees and trestles, then taper round again.  Making these sections is quite difficult in my opinion.  After trying various cutting and sanding techniques, I ended up using my new mini veritas chisels to create the octagonal sections.  Even so - because of the softness of the wood - I'm going to call these "octagonal-esque."  The silver lining as this will all be painted black and so my lack of precision will be obscured a bit.
 
 
 
All all of the top masts and t'gallant masts contain a number of sheaves.  As we know, sheeves and this scale are really, really difficult to pull off.  I can still manage to construct the lower sheaves for the top masts in the way that I did those on the hull and bulwarks, but all the smaller sheaves are simulated by drilling a couple holes and carving out a 'sheave like' notch.  For the 'real' sheaves, I drill out the holes and patiently adjust with my smallest pin file. The sheave itself is a cut off piece of round brass notched, sanded down, and slid into the slot.
 
 
 
The crosstrees and trestles are from the kit.  A smidge oversized, but definitely doable. Especially since, once again, this will all be painted black.  The mast caps all did need to be redone because the kit versions do not accommodate room for the eye bolts, etc.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks Bob and Christian.   And you're absolutely correct of course Christian about walnut and most 'kit wood' - I keep a little container with all my bits of boxwood no matter how small. You never know when you're going to need a scrap for something. But I've found that the drill bits one uses are just as crucial. I've found my micro "MA Ford twisted" bits to be invaluable. A bit more expensive than most, but second to none in ability to make very very small and still very clean holes. 

The euphroes and crows feet ended up being way more finicky than I anticipated.  Yikes.  First of all, they're pretty darn small at the 1/64 scale.  The fore and main are supposed to be just over 6mm at scale with the mizzen at a little less than 5mm.  I quickly determined that I wasn't going to be able to do that and get the holes I needed drilled, so instead I went about creating the euphroes the other way around. Boxwood is a must for these parts as they are very small and delicate.  I drilled the smallest diameter holes I could get, as close as feasible, and let the overall length of the euphroes determine themselves. Six holes for the mizzen, 10 holes for the fore and main. The mizzen ended up at about 7mm, and the fore and main at about 10mm.
 
 
 

 
The edges were cut using my thinnest pin file to make room for the serving. An eye is served, then the euphroe wrapped, then a 3mm block, then another eye.  The block-end of the euphroes are seized to the stays for each mast. I started with the idea of serving it by feeding a line through the stay and wrapping it. This is how I did the mizzen.  But this ended up not being the best method.
 

 
The reason is because of how difficult it is to maintain the tension on the crows feet balanced with the euphroes.  If you tighten the crow's feet too much, it pulls on the stay until it is out of place. If you keep too much tension on the stay, when you loosen it, all the crows feet relax and are askew. I hung a clip off of the stay to keep it reasonably taught for the mizzen until I could rove all the crows through. Which, in itself, is not an easy task without snagging just about every fitting on the ship.
  
 
Finally getting a balance took several tries and much adjusting.  What I decided to do with the other masts, was to keep every seizing and knot loose until the crow's feet were roved through - then I could tighten the blocks and each component individually until tension was maintain and the stays were not distorted.  Once again, using a clip to loosely hang off the stay was helpful, but being able to adjust the block that is seized along the stay was most beneficial. 
 

 
Using this method - it didn't take quite as long to get a decent result on the main and foremasts. 
 
 
 

 

Thanks Chuck, and also all ya'll following along.  Always appreciate the encouragement. 

It's always a pretty big step when you knock off the lower ratlines. Just a couple of additional notes - the first six lines on the top and bottom of both the main and fore shrouds skip the foremost and aftmost shrouds. Otherwise the process is the same as the mizzen - skipping every few lines to prevent the shrouds from squeezing together or skewing.  I used a long ruler to make sure  my graph paper was positioned properly to the match the lines of the ship and the other ratlines. 
 
 
 
  I also wanted to note here that it is quite important (especially at this scale) to let the diluted PVA dry completely before you try and trim the edges otherwise the knots will unravel and you'll have to redo some lines. After the end knots dry, I use a brand new blade on my scalpel, hold the end of the rope as tightly as I can with my smallest tweezers, then gently cut the rope as close to the knot as possible with a slow back and forth sawing motion using only the weight of the scalpel. Trying to "slice" the rope does not work here and results in pulling and fraying.
 

 
This is also one of those places where it really does make a difference when you use higher quality lines - another benefit of making my own.  The polyester fibers do have a tendency to slip a tiny bit, so going through and adjusting the clove hitches across each ratline is paramount to maintaining some semblance of evenness throughout the rigging. I have some a bit more slack than others, but overall I'm pleased with the end result. As we all know - this is one of those times when patience really does pay off.
 
  
 
 
 
For those who are curious - a total of 784 clove hitches including the ratlines across the futtock shrouds.