_SalD_

druxey and rcmdrvr thank you both for the kind words, much appreciated.  and thanks for all the likes.

Ratlines:
I decided to tie the ratlines onto the shrouds instead of gluing them because I had glued them on one of my other ships and wasn’t happy with the way they looked.  I used a 14” (scaled) spacing on the guideline card that I printed out and clipped it to the shrouds to hold it in place.  I started with a simple overhand knot on the first shroud followed by clove hitch knots on the remaining shrouds.  Once the ratline was in its final position I put a small drop of ca glue on the knots to hold them in place. 

When all the knots were tied and glued I went over them with a bit of black paint to knock the shine off from the ca glue.
I don’t mind a little sag in the lines because imo it gives it a more realistic look. 

There is one new thing I learnt while doing these.  I normally listen to music while working on my ships and change the style of music by how I feel that day.  Well I happened to be in the mood for some classical music the day I was working on the ratlines and I can tell you now do not try and tie ratlines to Korsakov’s  "Flight of the Bumblebee", unless you want to finish them in about ten minutes.🐝
 
New toy I bought for myself for for my birthday.  Can't wait to try it out.

 
 

Ratlines:
I decided to tie the ratlines onto the shrouds instead of gluing them because I had glued them on one of my other ships and wasn’t happy with the way they looked.  I used a 14” (scaled) spacing on the guideline card that I printed out and clipped it to the shrouds to hold it in place.  I started with a simple overhand knot on the first shroud followed by clove hitch knots on the remaining shrouds.  Once the ratline was in its final position I put a small drop of ca glue on the knots to hold them in place. 

When all the knots were tied and glued I went over them with a bit of black paint to knock the shine off from the ca glue.
I don’t mind a little sag in the lines because imo it gives it a more realistic look. 

There is one new thing I learnt while doing these.  I normally listen to music while working on my ships and change the style of music by how I feel that day.  Well I happened to be in the mood for some classical music the day I was working on the ratlines and I can tell you now do not try and tie ratlines to Korsakov’s  "Flight of the Bumblebee", unless you want to finish them in about ten minutes.🐝
 
New toy I bought for myself for for my birthday.  Can't wait to try it out.

 
 

Sometimes a few days can go by with 'too many other things' to do, resulting in no progress at the shipyard.  But then I can do a bunch in three hours ... and the latest 'bunch' is split between 2 posts.  Now there are differences in configuration from the GF1 (as built), a couple of GF1 modifications and then the GF2.  From the pictures of the original I can see, there is some metal shielding at the bow, so I wondered if I could bend a piece of planking into a parabolic shape to go around the extreme bow.
 
  A spare scrap of mahogany from another kit was soaked and heated with an iron before trying to get a bend in various ways - including chewing.  The bend was too extreme, so I tried boiling the plank in water for a while - and this did soften it enough to bend (with just a few snapped fibers on the outer surface.  I figured that the bow of the model could be a form to tape the softened plank to and let it dry.  Due to aforesaid cracking, wood glue was applied to both sides and covered with wax paper before taping.
 

 
  When untaped,  it didn't look too bad ... but it was entirely vertical in relation to the deck, where the original guard is flared to match the angle of the hull side in that area.  Something else had to be tried, but below is a shot of the first effort.
 

 
   A roughly parabolic cut was made into paper (trial fitted & trimmed as needed to the bow.
 

 

 
  I decided to cut two pieces of ordinary walnut veneer (the thin sort), as thin stock can ben a lot even before heating/soaking.
 
 

 
  These pieces were boiled and got VERY flexible, so some wood glue was put in between before using the bow again as a caul ... actually, as many layers of veneer can be used as desired for thicker pieces - and when bent to the caul (form) they all shift as needed.  Trimming is done later, so the parts should be oversized when glued.
 

 
 
  I found later that the wetness of the stock made most of the glue 'seep in' to the parts, and the bond was not good.  So in a nearly dry state (having been pre-formed), they were still somewhat flexible, so fresh glue was put in between - and then many clamps were added (plus a little tape to slightly over bend, since there was spring back).
 

 
 
  It a perfect Indian Summer Saturday, and I must take the Admiral on an excursion shortly, so I'll finish last evening's progress in the next post.  If I'm lucky, perhaps we'll have a pleasure cruise this afternoon.

Update
 
made aft railing of boots deck and card template of the bridge deck, also dry fit of the stairways to the bridge deck
 
Nils

front and aft-railings for boots deck

stairways to the bridge deck and card bridge template ( the bridge deck will have a planking). The funnel is not shortend to right length yet

aft view to mid section
 

poop with emergency rudder kinematic gear housing and rudderchain guides

the rudderchains fit along side the aft hold hatches. The support on the poop is for the long aft load derricks

3 sheave blocks for the boots davits
 

wheelhouse on the card bridge-template
 

The nail holes are being filled ... I trim off the end of a toothpick and file to make it more cylindrical (like the holes - which may have been drilled first just a little smaller than the nails used fore the stanchions), then trial fit before dipping the end in titebond and filling the hole.

 
  Step 2 is to flush cut.

 
  Step 3 is to tap lightly with a planishing hammer, and just a tap with the nub on a grommet set if needed.
 

 
  I'll touch up the color with shellac, which will also penetrate the end grain of the toothpicks.  The builder's hole pattern (such as they are) will be followed so as not to make any more holes in the deck as necessary.
 
 

With the main yard I tried out the first blocks on the ship, and I really got into it with the hearts on the bow.

In the meantime it has developed further. It's amazing what a large amount came together for the standing rigging alone. Here is a family picture.



The special blocks were the most fun. Here are some in the foreground.



First the Sisterblocks, in German with the crisp name "Stengewantblocks", just try to speak that out loud.





Of course, the test assembly here on the main mast was exciting ...



... also with the matching ropes.



And also cute the smaller version on the mizzen mast.



Long tackles blocks are used to stiffen the fore topmast stay and its preventer stay.









I'm also supposed to pass this in between the guys at the heads. Will also be exciting again.

XXXDAn

well done Craig, ditto on all the previous comments.  I can almost hear her now being staged at the line.

Such a glorious weekend for October in SE Pennsylvania ... and no 'first frost' yet, so all the annuals are still in excellent bloom.  Yet it is not to last, so there may be better restoration progress once the cold sets in (at last).  I ended up 'spinning' the original eyelets to get rid of any ovalness, and also to reduce the flange a little.  Now I'm really happy with them.  The lick of the grinding wheel did produce micro burrs, so each was de-burred and planished again to restore flatness ... all 82 of them (not counting 6 spares - 2 of which are already needed).
 
  What I seem to be doing is 'kitting' this project as each small bit is decided on and then accomplished.  There's a box with the purchased items, and the scratch or reworked items are going into plastic bags.  There are sail sets, cleaned masting, 2 sizes of turnbuckles - and the concept drawing for the rigging (yet to be finalized).

 
 
  Doing my own 'kit' is comforting, as I've always liked kits - whether built 'out of the box' or modified however much.  NOW was the time to grit my teeth and decide what to do with the bowsprit.  The concept of joining the original with a rod just won't provide the stability needed once rigging proceeds.  So a tapered piece of masting (some top mast) from a parts kit was found, then the last inch had the taper removed on the lathe so it will fit properly into a cylindrical hole to be drilled.  How to do that ...
 
  An ordinary bit was selected since the end of the bowsprit is a non-standard size, so I knew 'grabbing' and keeping the angle right would be tricky.  There was some tearing at the mouth of the bore, but ... there are always some unplanned things that happen.  You can see the 'sprung' trim on teh side, but that will be glued with a little pinning for good measure.
 
 
  The nail holes (previous uprights for the railing) will be filled with tooth pick and re-drilled for the nice brass stanchions purchased.  Before the bowsprit gets epoxied, it will have to have all the hardware mounted and be painted white.  Finishing the hull will also be done before mounting the bowsprit, since one done - it is a vulnerable part, and many models (like this one did before) are subject to accidental breakage.  Bur just to prove that my eye wasn't off, the stem was test fitted and it looks OK.
 
  
 

 
 There is work to be done in the bow area as well.  The above step, being accomplished, has me breathing a sigh of relief.  
 
The first coat of shellac was given a day to dry before light sanding and re-application.  Two more times it was sanded and re-coated.  Shellac is 'funny', in that the rough surface of the wood (if seen highly magnified) presents mountains and valleys ... and the shellac coats all evenly (with some absorption the first go-'round) - leaving the same profile.  Sanding 'knocks off' the mountain tops, but leaves the valleys slightly filled in.  Subsequent coats also tend to coat evenly ... don't even think of 'over applying' to try and "drown" or bulk fill-in those valleys, since that will make a gummy mess.
 
  With each sanding, more of the 'mountain tops' get leveled off as the valleys do finally fill-in.  When taken to a planar surface, then building up a thicker flat coat, some wadding inside a twisted piece of lint-free cloth is the applicator to keep everything smooth and even - with the final pass or two done with just a little alcohol alone.  This is what is known as a 'French Polish' - like on fine colonial furniture.  There is still some natural thickness variation that gives it a finesse - not the thick 'plasticky' look of urethane.  And some woods (like mahogany) have a 'shimmer' known as caytoyency - an almost 'jewel-like' appearance.  I only go to this amount of trouble on fine furniture.
 
  For the stand, I chose to leave some of the grain in evidence ... a little like the best of both worlds.  The color is a little off in the picture, and there are some flash reflections in dots or streaks.  The wood looks far better 'in person'.

 
  So far, so good.
 

well done Craig, ditto on all the previous comments.  I can almost hear her now being staged at the line.

well done Craig, ditto on all the previous comments.  I can almost hear her now being staged at the line.

well done Craig, ditto on all the previous comments.  I can almost hear her now being staged at the line.

well done Craig, ditto on all the previous comments.  I can almost hear her now being staged at the line.

druxey and rcmdrvr thank you both for the kind words, much appreciated.  and thanks for all the likes.

well done Craig, ditto on all the previous comments.  I can almost hear her now being staged at the line.

druxey and rcmdrvr thank you both for the kind words, much appreciated.  and thanks for all the likes.

This will complete my work on the dragster. The roadster will follow at a future date.
I have a ton of these old, nostalgic, unbuilt car models in my collection. Can't spend too much time on most of them to have any chance of building them all. Maybe one week each at the most. Some I will make an exception for as the kit may be interesting enough (to me) to warrant more time. 
Thanks for following along, for all your "likes" and comments. It's been fun!

Coming along nicely, Sal!

Looking great!

Moving right along the next few steps were pretty straight forward.
Sheerpoles were glued in place.

Main stay was served and installed around the masthead.....

....down to eyebolts on the deck

Fore stay was served and installed.  The futtock shrouds were also installed on the fore mast and I chose to make the these shrouds with 28 gauge wire glued to the crosstrees and set in a hole drilled in the mast.  I'm not sure I would recommend doing this and just use thread as called for in the instructions because keeping the wire straight proved to be a challenge. 

Wire futtock shroud 

Overall state of the rigging to date.

 
 
 
 

Moving right along the next few steps were pretty straight forward.
Sheerpoles were glued in place.

Main stay was served and installed around the masthead.....

....down to eyebolts on the deck

Fore stay was served and installed.  The futtock shrouds were also installed on the fore mast and I chose to make the these shrouds with 28 gauge wire glued to the crosstrees and set in a hole drilled in the mast.  I'm not sure I would recommend doing this and just use thread as called for in the instructions because keeping the wire straight proved to be a challenge. 

Wire futtock shroud 

Overall state of the rigging to date.

 
 
 
 

Moving right along the next few steps were pretty straight forward.
Sheerpoles were glued in place.

Main stay was served and installed around the masthead.....

....down to eyebolts on the deck

Fore stay was served and installed.  The futtock shrouds were also installed on the fore mast and I chose to make the these shrouds with 28 gauge wire glued to the crosstrees and set in a hole drilled in the mast.  I'm not sure I would recommend doing this and just use thread as called for in the instructions because keeping the wire straight proved to be a challenge. 

Wire futtock shroud 

Overall state of the rigging to date.

 
 
 
 

Moving right along the next few steps were pretty straight forward.
Sheerpoles were glued in place.

Main stay was served and installed around the masthead.....

....down to eyebolts on the deck

Fore stay was served and installed.  The futtock shrouds were also installed on the fore mast and I chose to make the these shrouds with 28 gauge wire glued to the crosstrees and set in a hole drilled in the mast.  I'm not sure I would recommend doing this and just use thread as called for in the instructions because keeping the wire straight proved to be a challenge. 

Wire futtock shroud 

Overall state of the rigging to date.

 
 
 
 

Moving right along the next few steps were pretty straight forward.
Sheerpoles were glued in place.

Main stay was served and installed around the masthead.....

....down to eyebolts on the deck

Fore stay was served and installed.  The futtock shrouds were also installed on the fore mast and I chose to make the these shrouds with 28 gauge wire glued to the crosstrees and set in a hole drilled in the mast.  I'm not sure I would recommend doing this and just use thread as called for in the instructions because keeping the wire straight proved to be a challenge. 

Wire futtock shroud 

Overall state of the rigging to date.

 
 
 
 

thank you very much Rick,
I`m pleased that the intended "glassing" works out for the wheelhouse windows, here in dryfit the first 4 silicone pannels have been pushed into the frames, but the wheelhose cabin will be painted first before final assembly
 
Nils

 

 
 

"panes" pushed in so far that there is a little back-step to the outside frame frontside