Louie da fly

And it's a particularly good reproduction of the "Chinoiserie" style of lion fiurehead that was so popular at the time, right down to the expression on its face.

Stem hat fort, mostly in order to fight ship inavators.. stem was the embarking spot of the ship. The stern was the place where the navigator was standing, as the he was responsible for the course. 
The stem had red "cheeks" says Homer. So I painted red  and ofcourse as Homer again mention I will have later on to paint the ship black under the wale.

You are not going to get blind... on the contrary thats a good eye fitness workout!

This looks awesome Steven! 
The background proto sounds like a neat idea, though a very detailed image might overcrowd the detail on the ship and draw attention away from it. 
One of those things were balance matters I guess. 
George

I thought I'd share with you the process of carving one of these oarsmen. I used a craft knife with a No. 11 blade.
 

 
Checking against an existing oarsman to get the size of the head right.

 
Putting the eyes in - unfortunately you only get one chance to get it right and this one's eyes aren't exactly the way I wanted them - he looks a little ghoulish. Still, I'm willing to accept this as the focus is supposed to be on the ship, not the oarsmen. Final touch-up and paint should make him look a little more human. 
,
And finished ready for sanding and adding his arms, which I have left till last so I can get their position right in relation to the oar.

To give you some idea of time-scale, I carved the head and face while I was listening to Bizet's l'Arlesienne suite (30-45 minutes) and the body while listening to the Beatles Abbey Road (about the same amount of time). So maybe one and a half hours in all. But it's very hard on the hands - I can only do one or at the most two in a day and then I need a rest to recover . . . But the good news is that this was No. 41 of 48 - only 7 to go!
 
Steven

Some more oarsmen, and a nice background picture. It's a reconstruction of the Byzantine harbour of Theodosius (where the Yenikapi ships were found). It would be good to make one of those background pictures big enough to look like it's a real background, but I'll have to wait till lockdown is over so I can get to a shop that does it.
 
 
 
My wife tells me I have to stop making these figures, otherwise I'll go blind. I've decided I'll only do it till I need glasses.
 

 
Oh.

Thanks for the great response and support.  I’ll try to be better with the photos. Wasn’t thinking about orientation. Tks.  I found some great resources on the site and am using them.  Special thanks to Popeye as he built this specific model.  I have no experience and I’m a very much “Tim the tool man” kind of guy but I’m having fun doing this. 
so I found some historical reference where the rear deck house (sp) had rounded walls.  I liked it so thought I’d give it a try.  I didn’t have any round stock so I had to make one from square.  I split it and glued it up.  Not great but I think I can make it work with some wood filler and lots or sanding.  

First decking is coming along but lots of sanding to follow.  Very slow but I’m learning a lot each day and am feeling confident about the second decking. 

I'll pull up a chair, if you don't mind.Looks like an interesting project, and you're off to a good start.
 
Regarding the orientation of the photos, I've had success saving the photo to a file on my computer, then rotating it and re-saving it if its orientation was wrong, and only then uploading it to the build log. Sometimes it's up the right way in the file but wrong in the build log. If that's the case, I delete the uploaded one from the log and go back and rotate it again till it all comes out right. Others who are more tech savvy might have a better way to do it, but this seems to work for me.
 
Regarding rigging, there's a whole section in this forum just related to it. Just go to the home page and you'll see it about halfway down the page. Rigging is very date-specific - twenty years can make a big difference. There are books out there which others should be able to refer you to (not my field - I know nothing baout the rigging of this period) which should be able to help you a lot. Also look at other Thermopylae build logs, and perhaps others from ships of the same time like Cutty Sark, which should give you some pointers.
 
BTW, just a bit of historical interest, "Thermopylae" means "hot gates" in Ancient Greek. The "gates" were the narrow pass across the mountains, the "hot" was because there were hot springs there.
 
Looking forward to watching progress on this one.

And it's a particularly good reproduction of the "Chinoiserie" style of lion fiurehead that was so popular at the time, right down to the expression on its face.

Very true. I have to force myself to stay focussed on my current build - otherwise I'd be starting all kinds of new ones. I have a list a mile long of models I'd like to make, and it takes a considerable mental effort to keep on the same one and get it finished, particularly when I'm doing something repetitve and boring, but necessary to finish the model.
 
Even now I've got two under way rather than one, but I've at least put one on hold till the other is finished.

Some more oarsmen, and a nice background picture. It's a reconstruction of the Byzantine harbour of Theodosius (where the Yenikapi ships were found). It would be good to make one of those background pictures big enough to look like it's a real background, but I'll have to wait till lockdown is over so I can get to a shop that does it.
 
 
 
My wife tells me I have to stop making these figures, otherwise I'll go blind. I've decided I'll only do it till I need glasses.
 

 
Oh.

Amazing work, Siggi! 

Very true. I have to force myself to stay focussed on my current build - otherwise I'd be starting all kinds of new ones. I have a list a mile long of models I'd like to make, and it takes a considerable mental effort to keep on the same one and get it finished, particularly when I'm doing something repetitve and boring, but necessary to finish the model.
 
Even now I've got two under way rather than one, but I've at least put one on hold till the other is finished.

Very true. I have to force myself to stay focussed on my current build - otherwise I'd be starting all kinds of new ones. I have a list a mile long of models I'd like to make, and it takes a considerable mental effort to keep on the same one and get it finished, particularly when I'm doing something repetitve and boring, but necessary to finish the model.
 
Even now I've got two under way rather than one, but I've at least put one on hold till the other is finished.

Very true. I have to force myself to stay focussed on my current build - otherwise I'd be starting all kinds of new ones. I have a list a mile long of models I'd like to make, and it takes a considerable mental effort to keep on the same one and get it finished, particularly when I'm doing something repetitve and boring, but necessary to finish the model.
 
Even now I've got two under way rather than one, but I've at least put one on hold till the other is finished.

Ok, but my coffee's getting cold . . . 

Amazing work, Siggi! 

You may already have these, and not so much to change anything in your model, but for additional information that might be of use in resolving questions about construction details, you might like to look at 
https://www.academia.edu/19499820/Construction_Features_of_Doel_1_a_14th_Century_Cog_found_in_Flanders?email_work_card=view-paper
https://www.academia.edu/27506746/Doel_2_a_second_14th_century_cog_wrecked_in_den_Deurganck_Doel_Belgium
https://www.academia.edu/40371597/The_IJsselcog_project_from_excavation_to_3D_reconstruction

Welcome, Strelok. Make sure you make a note on this thread when you've started your Golden Yacht build log. I for one would like to watch the progress!

That'd be great, Paul. Make sure you announce the build log here so we know you've started and can follow your build.

I'm following your log. Coming along well already. 
 
That's a very cute photo of your daughter and grandson.

Hi Trent, and welcome to MSW! Is that your new grandkid in the avatar? Very cute.
 
Once you receive your kit, make sure you start a build log. It's a great way to get help and advice and encouragement, and we get to see your progress in building a beautiful and gracious ship. To start a build log for a kit, loo here:
 
Good luck with it. Sounds like you'll be kept busy for quite a while . . . and don't be afraid to ask questions if you get stuck or need to find something out. That's what the forum's all about. There's plenty of experienced modellers here, and they're very happy to help. And there is NO such thing as a stupid question 

Hi Bruce, and welcome. Mark's right - steam-powered models are a bit rare on MSW.
 
A few questions -
 
Firstly, have you ever built a ship model before? Though it's not impossible, taking on a large or complicated project first off can be a bit overwhelming. If you're planning to build a steamer, what kind did you have in mind - modern or transition from sail to steam - merchant vessel or warship?  That will make a big difference in where you should be looking.
 
Second, do you have any experience with steam engines? That's a whole subject in itself. There are quite a few model steam engines out there that might be of use to you, but I can't point you in the right direction because I have no experience with such things since my Dad built one from a kit when I was a nipper about 60 years ago.
 
As far as I know there aren't any kits out there that are steam-powered, so the first thing to find out would be what kit you could buy that would be suitable to convert to a steam-powered model, that was also not too expensive, and has clear instructions?
 
I realise this doesn't really answer your questions at all, but it might give you some idea of what to look for and where you should be looking.
 
Having said that, the idea of a proper steam-powered ship model being built on MSW would certainly be of interest to me, and I expect also to many other members. Once you're over the search phase and have a kit to start on, you'll find the members here very helpful and encouraging. I wish you every success with your quest - I just wish I could be of more help.

Mighty Mo, indeed!
 
About 30 years ago I almost got on board Missouri when she was berthed in Sydney. It would have been good to stand on the actual ship where the final surrender was signed and the end of World War Two. But the crowds were so huge and thick that they closed off visiting before I got to the head of the queue and I missed out. Still regret it a little.