Piet

Well, it's been a few days but I was not sitting on my hands.  Had to do other things that took priority over model building.  Yes, there are a few more important things - - - when the Admiral suggests that something REALLY needs taken care of - - - 
 
In any case, I painted the trim work green and put some poly on the decks.  Looking okay but the trim needs some touching up.  That'll be an ongoing thing with me I'm afraid.  I keep seeing things that could be just a tad better.
 
While the paint was drying I started making the cabin door hinges from 0.1 mm brass shim, 1 mm brass tube with 0.5 mm brass rod for the hinge pins.  All very fiddling work but it went off like clock work, no problems.
 
Next came the job cementing these little parts to the doors and then the frame parts to the door frames.  First I cemented the door parts to the doors with CA. Okay, now to cement the frame parts.  I taped booth doors together front and back with masking tape and then set them int the door opening.  As the pics show I also secured the doors to the bulkhead.  Hey, my mommy didn't raise a dummy 
 
I then clamped the model into my small Proxxon vice by the cutwater so she stands bow down.  This way the door bulkhead is now horizontal.  The small fame parts could now be placed on the frames and slid into the hinge pins.  So far so good.  A little touch of CA and holding them tight against the frames till te CA had done its grasping job and presto, job done.
 
Now I had to give it the hingeing test and wouldn't you know it, one of the tubes was not soldered on correctly.  So, that one had to be redone and reinstalled.  No problem, just another 15 minutes and it was back on.
 
The only problem is that the doors won't open all the way when the fish bin hatches are on.  They'll just have to squeeze through a narrower opening, sorry guys     
 
I could now finish with paint touch-up on the door bulkhead.  I'll have Gwen, the Admiral, look at it tomorrow and let me know where else I need to touch-up.  
 
If the paint job is satisfactory then I can start with putting the bowsprit on and rigging that.  Then the mast and rigging it.  Hmmm, we are slowly getting there.  The sails will be a challenge for me 
 
Here are a few pics of my efforts of the last few days.
 

This shows the three parts that make up the door parts for the hinge.  A similar setup applies for the frame parts, except that I made them smaller as shown in the next picture.
 

This shows the completed door hinge assembly.  
 

This shows how I jigged the doors so I can cement the frame ends to the frames.  Sorry, I didn't take a pic with the boat bow down in the vice but it worked like a charm.
 

This is another shot of jigging the doors.
 

This shows the completion of the door hinge installation.  I think it looks a little better then the paper hinges I had on previously.  This is taken before I repainted the bulkhead.   
 

This is how my little sloop looks like as of today.
 
Cheers,

I think it looks excellent Piet! I have no doubt it'll pass the Admiral's inspection with flying colors! 
 
Cheers

love that paint!!!!   she looks so sweet!      exactly.........no doubt that she'll pass the admiral's muster!
 
I like the idea that the doors are removable......you never know when you'll need to replace the sofa! 

Not a lot to report today just a little more tedious type of work....slowly trodding along and working on the Bowsprit. Got the Inner and Outer Jibboom Shrouds installed with Bullseyes mounted on the Catheads.

Doing a little at a time. Rigging sheet & clew lines. Added the stay & flying jib sails.
 
 

Great Scott Popeye, you are going like gang busters with this build!  Marvelous detail work.
 
Cheers,

Works continues on left side
 

 
Bob, your idea about hiden suppirtin molding is briliant and neccessary for strongnes of rail
 

 
And again nice detail
 
 

 

FINE!!!!   I'll just do a reset!
 

 
there.......it worked now!      the instructions call for a single rail on the gangway........I have stanchions for three rails.......I'll use them     after all.......I don't want to copy the plans to the letter now,  do I?!?!
 

 
one corner is a bit more than the other,  but with what it took to do this,  I left it.   I saw that it was just the matter of drilling another hole,  moving the offending stanchion,  and then filling the hole,  but it's all cemented at this point........really don't want to see what it would look like after    ahhhh,  but we all know what happens to things that irritate    I then made up what I believe is the sampson post......I think I cut the  cross bars a bit too short......I may make another .
 

 
more bits of detail was added to the first section of the trawl rig......those horseshoe looking thing I showed earlier found a place here.   the yokes at the ends of the cross bar were also added......these are Billing's idea of the pintle / gungeon assembly in some of their kits  {I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here}.   I also have some of the plastic yokes used in some of their gaff parts....I hang onto them.......use them for other things.
 

 
yea........this process was a bit rushed as well........I failed to take pictures of the step by step.   the gangway is in place at this point.
 

 

 
I had to do a dry fit........but now it is unstable.   I used a prop pole for this,  since I haven't got the roof done yet.   it's the next thing.........
 

 
as a matter of fact.........here is the beginnings of the roof.....left to dry over night
 

 
now the shaping.......the visor {front and sides}..........I really need to get some paint on her,  so the pilot house can be cemented in place.   the next update should be in detailing the structure 

the tulle was used to net off the railings of the podium........I was looking at the lower area.   there is a part that is level with the cap rails.....I have such an itch to put something there......it's killing me!   the plans show nothing there.......so it's a hard decision  {I don't want a  'man overboard'  situation}      I got a bit rushed with this.......the top part of the podium frame has been added as well.
 

 

 
oh.......oh.......picture problem......

HOLY COW!!!!   I've been catching up on all the builds I watch.......MAN!!   you folks have been busy!
 
    I watch so many builds......it's a wonder I get any of my own building done  .....I love it though,  so many beautiful builds out there........and more ideas that I can shake a stick at      so much......that I had to take a day off from work.   no....I didn't play hookey.......I have plenty of time to cover it!   I still have two weeks of vacation time.......took one for the Christmas holiday.......and now the admiral is ribbing me for when I'm gonna do it again.  you'd think that after a four day  'week end'....she'd be sick of me  
   Gibbs loves it when I'm home......actually he like to goad me into the living room,  so he can sit on the floor with his chewies......or sit with me on the couch and watch TV!   you should have seen him the day he saw a real horse!        here's one of his favorite poses,  in his efforts to get me into the living room
 
----------->
 
      what a HAM!!!!!!!  he has a few other tricks......but I would have to show you in video 
 
anyway........Monday started out with something I wanted to do for a couple of sittings now......the start of the upper gangway
 

 
it will span the length between the first section uprights.......it's what the tall ladder is for.  I also wanted to put the finish on the rack / podium......first adding extra  divider pegs for the floatation buoys.
 

 
then.....a little sanding to get them all to match
 

 
I got out some of the netting that I had found a while ago,  in one of my scavenger hunts.   the kit supplies green netting for the reels......but I have some in brown as well.
 

 
I also brought out some tulle.....for another area of the build......not sure what the kit supplies for this,  but it is shown in the instructions.
 

 
the gangway frame got the platform floor put on at this time
 

Sign ready to hang....

 
check out the ship figure.
This was a fun little break ...
 

 
Back to the Mayflower....

I came up with the oak-wash idea myself, essentially watering down a normal oak varnish with some water. Was really pleased with the overall look of the decking, as it will be the main bit that people will see on the completed model.
 
I added the skylight to the middle of the poop.

Fig 5: False poop deck and planking both the quarterdeck and the poop deck
 
This was a huge area of planking and given it was going to be oak-wash stained when I finished (and hence be covered up), I decided to cheat a little and plank in long lengths, using the same pilot pen used for the deck nail effect, on the upper gundeck below, to then ink in the butt shift effect and the deck nails on the quarterdeck planking.
 
I still used the bonded nylon along the edges between the planks to simulate the caulking.

Figs 4 & 4A: False quarterdeck and cabins
 
Again, the false deck fitted between the various bulkheads with virtually no adjusting. Excellent laser-cutting! The cabin woodwork was quite fiddly to do. I fashioned the leading to the window frames out of a bar code printed onto some sticky labels at work and then cut out and stuck onto the acetate provided with the kit.

Fig 3: Planking the false upper gun deck
 
So the fun and games then began and my first decision to deviate from the plans. Fig 3 just showed the gundeck being vaguely planked in some way and some sort of material being used as caulking.
 
I did some research online (though somehow still didn't manage to find this site) and decided I would purchase some bonded black nylon thread for my caulking and that I would cut the deck planking strips provided into 9cm lengths (seemed to replicate a reasonable plank length), such that they could be staggered at 3cm intervals and look like some sort of butt shift system.
 
I started down the centre-line and worked out to one side, finally cutting and shaping round the bulkheads. Then switched around and did the same the other side. The final touches were to paint the whole thing in red ochre (as I'd read about the decks being painted red to prevent the spilled blood distressing the crew) and to add some deck "nails", 2 at each end and 1 at each 3cm point along the lengths. This was done using a 0.5mm black pilot pen.
 
In hindsight (and having done lots more research and reading now) I realise I should have done a proper 3 or 4 butt system, as on the ship herself, but what's done is done.
 
It took a long time to do but I was very pleased with the effect created, even though a lot of this deck won't be seen once the quarterdeck is added later.

Fig 2B: Stern gallery basework

Fig 2A: Aft bulkheads

Fig 2: False upper gundeck
 
So far, despite the lack of instruction in the manual, the laser-cut pieces have fitted together superbly well. The false deck slotted in with the minimum of fuss and adjustment....which at least proved I'd got the bulkhead alignment reasonable straight if nothing else.

Fig 1B: Mid-section bulkheads
 
All fairly straightforward so far. Bulkheads dry-fitted first to ensure they slotted in snugly and square. Starting to resemble a rather bony fish at the moment!

Fig 1A: For'd bulkheads
 
1A?! Bloody cheats. Call it Fig 2 so it feels like I'm making more progress!
 
Apologies for the rubbish photos (these early shots weren't great)

The Building Slip
 
Quickly realised I'd need somewhere proper to actually build her on and thought I'd need some sort of "shipyard" arrangement. Searched "building slip" online only to find Billings actually do one themselves. Result. Bit expensive but has proved totally invaluable for me to date.

Fig 1: The Keel
 
So it began. The first thing I did was pencil number every piece on the various laser-cut sheets with the corresponding part number so that there would be no getting mixed up. There is also a numbered parts list at the front of the instruction manual, so the idea was to cross off each part, both from the list and on the drawing in the manual, as it was used/added to the construction such that nothing was forgotten.
 
This was followed by a comprehensive read through the "instruction" manual.....this model is marketed as being "expert" level and maybe what they really mean is if you're tackling a Victory (which I've read should be your 5-6th ship attempt, not your first! Eek!), then you should know what you're doing by now, so we're not going to tell you very much about how to put it together. To say the instruction manual is unhelpful is a massive understatement! There is a picture of which parts go together where but there is no idea given of which order to do this in, or indeed any advice on how to do it. This wasn't a problem with the keel but got more troublesome as it progressed.
 
 

This was the day I received the box in the post. Initial impression (following the initial gasps of delight) were how good the laser-cut pieces looked swiftly followed by how many of them there were! This was July 2012!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Well, it's been a few days but I was not sitting on my hands.  Had to do other things that took priority over model building.  Yes, there are a few more important things - - - when the Admiral suggests that something REALLY needs taken care of - - - 
 
In any case, I painted the trim work green and put some poly on the decks.  Looking okay but the trim needs some touching up.  That'll be an ongoing thing with me I'm afraid.  I keep seeing things that could be just a tad better.
 
While the paint was drying I started making the cabin door hinges from 0.1 mm brass shim, 1 mm brass tube with 0.5 mm brass rod for the hinge pins.  All very fiddling work but it went off like clock work, no problems.
 
Next came the job cementing these little parts to the doors and then the frame parts to the door frames.  First I cemented the door parts to the doors with CA. Okay, now to cement the frame parts.  I taped booth doors together front and back with masking tape and then set them int the door opening.  As the pics show I also secured the doors to the bulkhead.  Hey, my mommy didn't raise a dummy 
 
I then clamped the model into my small Proxxon vice by the cutwater so she stands bow down.  This way the door bulkhead is now horizontal.  The small fame parts could now be placed on the frames and slid into the hinge pins.  So far so good.  A little touch of CA and holding them tight against the frames till te CA had done its grasping job and presto, job done.
 
Now I had to give it the hingeing test and wouldn't you know it, one of the tubes was not soldered on correctly.  So, that one had to be redone and reinstalled.  No problem, just another 15 minutes and it was back on.
 
The only problem is that the doors won't open all the way when the fish bin hatches are on.  They'll just have to squeeze through a narrower opening, sorry guys     
 
I could now finish with paint touch-up on the door bulkhead.  I'll have Gwen, the Admiral, look at it tomorrow and let me know where else I need to touch-up.  
 
If the paint job is satisfactory then I can start with putting the bowsprit on and rigging that.  Then the mast and rigging it.  Hmmm, we are slowly getting there.  The sails will be a challenge for me 
 
Here are a few pics of my efforts of the last few days.
 

This shows the three parts that make up the door parts for the hinge.  A similar setup applies for the frame parts, except that I made them smaller as shown in the next picture.
 

This shows the completed door hinge assembly.  
 

This shows how I jigged the doors so I can cement the frame ends to the frames.  Sorry, I didn't take a pic with the boat bow down in the vice but it worked like a charm.
 

This is another shot of jigging the doors.
 

This shows the completion of the door hinge installation.  I think it looks a little better then the paper hinges I had on previously.  This is taken before I repainted the bulkhead.   
 

This is how my little sloop looks like as of today.
 
Cheers,

Well, it's been a few days but I was not sitting on my hands.  Had to do other things that took priority over model building.  Yes, there are a few more important things - - - when the Admiral suggests that something REALLY needs taken care of - - - 
 
In any case, I painted the trim work green and put some poly on the decks.  Looking okay but the trim needs some touching up.  That'll be an ongoing thing with me I'm afraid.  I keep seeing things that could be just a tad better.
 
While the paint was drying I started making the cabin door hinges from 0.1 mm brass shim, 1 mm brass tube with 0.5 mm brass rod for the hinge pins.  All very fiddling work but it went off like clock work, no problems.
 
Next came the job cementing these little parts to the doors and then the frame parts to the door frames.  First I cemented the door parts to the doors with CA. Okay, now to cement the frame parts.  I taped booth doors together front and back with masking tape and then set them int the door opening.  As the pics show I also secured the doors to the bulkhead.  Hey, my mommy didn't raise a dummy 
 
I then clamped the model into my small Proxxon vice by the cutwater so she stands bow down.  This way the door bulkhead is now horizontal.  The small fame parts could now be placed on the frames and slid into the hinge pins.  So far so good.  A little touch of CA and holding them tight against the frames till te CA had done its grasping job and presto, job done.
 
Now I had to give it the hingeing test and wouldn't you know it, one of the tubes was not soldered on correctly.  So, that one had to be redone and reinstalled.  No problem, just another 15 minutes and it was back on.
 
The only problem is that the doors won't open all the way when the fish bin hatches are on.  They'll just have to squeeze through a narrower opening, sorry guys     
 
I could now finish with paint touch-up on the door bulkhead.  I'll have Gwen, the Admiral, look at it tomorrow and let me know where else I need to touch-up.  
 
If the paint job is satisfactory then I can start with putting the bowsprit on and rigging that.  Then the mast and rigging it.  Hmmm, we are slowly getting there.  The sails will be a challenge for me 
 
Here are a few pics of my efforts of the last few days.
 

This shows the three parts that make up the door parts for the hinge.  A similar setup applies for the frame parts, except that I made them smaller as shown in the next picture.
 

This shows the completed door hinge assembly.  
 

This shows how I jigged the doors so I can cement the frame ends to the frames.  Sorry, I didn't take a pic with the boat bow down in the vice but it worked like a charm.
 

This is another shot of jigging the doors.
 

This shows the completion of the door hinge installation.  I think it looks a little better then the paper hinges I had on previously.  This is taken before I repainted the bulkhead.   
 

This is how my little sloop looks like as of today.
 
Cheers,