palmerit

I'm going to follow because I want to know how to use brass black properly. Painting brass parts is also challenging, even when finding a good primer for PE parts. I bought, but have yet to use, and to compare, Birchwood Brass Black and Blue Jacket's Brass Black 52. I saw both recommended here. Again, I haven't tried them or compared them. I've seen some posts here that have all sorts of complex multi-step processes, such as first using acetone, using distilled water, avoiding touching pieces because of body oils, sometimes doing a light sanding, and the like. When I've seen Olha Batchvarov use brass black on her YouTube videos, she's used no prep. I can't remember what brand she uses.

Great choices. You'll find that the Sherbourne is definitely a step up from the Dory, Pram, and Smack. The biggest new part of the Sherbourne will be doing the strip planking, which none of the Master Shipwright models require. And the rigging is definitely more complicated. The Modelkitstuff videos of the Sherbourne are great. Also check out the planking tutorials at the top under Modeling Techniques : https://modelshipworld.com/forum/98-planking-downloads-and-tutorials-and-videos/ After you do the Sherbourne, the Vanguard fishing boats are a nice next option I think. Probably similar in difficulty to the Sherbourne. But planking and rigging take a few simpler models to figure out. You'd probably be able to do a harder model, but these other Novice models still provide a nice challenge and an opportunity to learn more. I imagine the boats you bought before and half shelved are fairly "old school" models (the Vanguard representing a new approach), which require a lot more work to get pieces aligned and square, and a lot more hand-shaping of pieces, and far less detailed instructions. I'm going to do several more Vanguard models before I give one of those models a try myself. I have the Model Shipways Syren in my stash, which is probably one of the best of that style, being designed by Chuck Passaro, but it'll be several more models before I try to tackle that one. When you get to planking, definitely check out how bad some of the first attempts can be - mine being one of the worst. Since the Sherbourne is painted, you can use a lot of filler and sanding to make it better. You can see where I started and where I ended up. Kind of miracle. I found the NRG Half Hull model a good experience to better understand planking. It's a different kind of modeling (it's a half hull, not a full model, and it involves cutting out planks to shape from sheets rather than bending long planks into shape). But at least for me it gave me a good sense of what I'm trying to achieve when planking when bending planks in two directions.

With this Vanguard model you need to pull out the plans early to use plan sheet 1 to find where the parts are on some of the laser cut sheets. The Sherbourne and Ranger had the part numbers on the sheets.

Reading is important. You make the superstructure and slot into the lower deck without gluing to make sure it has the right form. The photos might make you think you glue the superstructure to the lower deck. You don’t until much later, despite the photo.

Like I've done on some - not all - other build logs, I'm going to have the second post be a place where I add some notes for other people who might be working on this boat so they don't need to search through the whole build log. No guarantees I'll add anything interesting here. But if I do, I hope it's helpful. The first bit is buying the replacement premium sails. I don't know if they are sold anywhere but the Vanguard web site: https://vanguardmodels.co.uk/products/zulu-lady-isabella The shipping cost to the US isn’t too bad. These are cloth sails after all.

My next Vanguard model, which I've had in my stash since last fall, is the Zulu ‘Lady Isabella’, one of the six fishing boat models Vanguard currently sells. Like the Sherbourne and the Ranger, this is a Novice kit. Its rigging looks to be a lot simpler than both the Sherbourne and the Ranger. This model is number 03, one of the first Vanguard models, so it'll be interesting to see how different it is from the other two models I've built. Of the fishing boat models, the Ranger (Novice) (which I just completed), the Lady Isabella (Novice), and Erycina (Amateur) are a bit larger boats, with the Lady Eleanor (Novice), Saucy Jack (Amateur), and Nisha (Amateur) a bit smaller boats - all are 1:64. This kit comes with sails. The sails that came with the Ranger weren't the best. I had seen that sails are an option online on Vanguard's web site for the Zulu (and the Erycina, which I have in my stash). I reached out to Chris Watton and he said that the ones for sale online are premium quality (and that once the free sails have been used up, these kits will again be sold without sails). I think all the fishing boats have optional premium sails. I ordered a set for the Lady Isabella and for the Erycina to replace the sets that come with the kits. I'm also planning to order blocks and rope from Syren for this one, maybe the next one too. This hull seems to have a bit at the top that's left unpainted. My hope is that my planking skills are up to the challenge. Otherwise, I'll just paint again.

I’m done with the Vanguard Ranger. It’s my second Vanguard model after the Sherbourne. The first couple of photos are in progress shots, but the rest are of the completed model. I still have a few clips holding some rigging while it dries (the tied off rope has a coat of diluted white PVA), but I’m done. I’m going to try to take some nicer photos with my Nikon - maybe next weekend - still need to do the same for my Sherbourne that I finished a while back. My next Vanguard model (in my stash) is the Zulu ‘Lady Isabella’, another fishing boat. For this one (and the Erycina, also in my stash) I’ve ordered from Vanguard the nicer sails instead of using the ones that come with the kit. I’m thinking of also getting blocks and line from Syren.

The Vanguard fishing boats are a nice alternative. I'm working on the Ranger now (another Novice kit, but still challenging in other ways, including the addition of sails). It's a bit longer (and a little narrower) than the Sherbourne. I have the Erycina and Zulu, two other fishing boats, in my stash. The three fishing boats I don't have from Vanguard are somewhat smaller variants. I bought the Duchess, thinking it would be my second Vanguard model. But working on smaller less complicated models has allowed me to try different things and practice on different aspects of modeling. I have a model like the Harpy (and the newer ones from Vanguard coming out) on my wish list. The Grecian is probably what I'll do after the two other fishing boats. Just an alternative couple of options.

It certainly is expensive. Lego is releasing a new $1000+ Death Star Model with nearly 10,000 piece - that I'm sure my son would love and he'd probably finish in a few days.

A lot of the rigging on this “interacts”, making it important it seems not to prematurely tighten a lot of it. It’ll be quite the acrobatics to tie some of this off.

More progress with the rigging. I use flat (without teeth) alligator clips to hold the ends of the lines (that will be tied off later on pins and cleats) so I can tie everything tight into place later in the process.

Legos, clamps of all sorts, rubber bands of various sizes. And micro squares and triangle. Care and patience. (I find a lot of uses for 1-2-3 block - as small weight, as bases for magnetic quad hands - and for keeping things square. Just note that real machinist squares will often be covered in a light oil to prevent rust, which can discolor wood.)

This one is on my list - not (yet) in my stash.

After quite a while using a couple of folding tables and a drop cloth in the middle of my younger son’s room - while at college - after moving in there from the dining room, we redid his bedroom and I got a corner as my work area. It’s densely packed but (somewhat) organized.