David Lester

Hello Again,
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working on the stern and bow details. As many of you know the practicum suggests using Evergreen styrene for much of the details. While it's quite effective, it really isn't very much fun to work with. It's difficult to do without getting CA glue all over the place and it doesn't set up as quickly as I would like. Also, the "memory" in the strips causes them to not want to stay in place around curves. I found it helped to wrap the trip around a cylinder for a day or se before using it. One minor change I made from the practicum was the size of the stripe on the rails. For some reason it's suggested to use .040 half round on the cheek rails and then switch to .010 x .020 for the headrails. Once I added the smaller stuff to the headrails, I noticed how much better it looked than the hearvier on the cheek rails, so I redid it, using the smaller scale. I'm not sure if it's more authentic to use the two different sizes or not, but I'm sure happier with the smaller size throughout.
 
The headrails are interesting to make. Most of them were not actually too difficult, but that middle rail is of the devil's own design. It's a series of compound curves and the practicum suggests making it ahead of attaching any of the rails to the model. The problem with this is that you're flying blind. The timbers connect the top curved rail with the top cheek rail. The middle rail goes between and I believe it is supposed to make contact with the timbers. My middle rail, which looked quite good off the model, didn't even come close to reaching the three middle timbers. It didn't seem to curve far enough toward the centre throughout it's horizontal run. I didn't have the heart to start over, as these rails were the result of several failed attempts, so my solution was to modify them. I laminated planking material to the inside surface of the rails where they were to meet the three timbers, then I sanded them to the necessary contour. Once I was satisfied, I then sanded the outside surface down to create the right width throughout its length. This effectively reshaped the piece. For anyone else using the practicum, I would suggest installing the other rails and timbers first, and only then making the middle rail to fit.
 
On the gallery, I know my work here isn't especially beautiful, but it's the result of several failed attempts and if there's one thing I've learned it's to know my limitations and when to cut my loses, so this is what it's going to be. The nameplate looked like it was going to be a bit of a challenge. The laser cut plate provided required painting and I knew I'd never get a satisfactory job. The trailboard isn't so difficult as all the curving detail allows a fair bit of margin for error, but the lettering is another story altogether. The practicum suggests using dry transfer lettering. I ordered some, but it is very difficult to hold it in place correctly and to get a straight string of letters. Also, often despite rubbing the letter, only a portion of it actually comes off which leaves quite a mess. In the end I turned to Microsoft Word. I created the lettering in a Word document, approximating it as closely as I could. I cut it out, glued it to a piece of wood and then sealed it with polyurethane. It seems to work ok.
 
So that pretty much brings my build log up to date.
David

Good Moring All,
I have a brief update. I've pretty much finished preparing all of the components for the deck and have begun installing them. I'm working from the stern to the bow and completing all the elements for each area as I move along. I've eliminated some of the rigging on the carronades. There are supposed to be two sets of tackle on each side, but I'm just modeling one of them. The scale of the blocks seems too big to me and when I tried to include the shorter set of tackle I ended up with the two blocks sitting very close together or even touching. It just looked too crowded and messy to me, so I've stripped it back a bit and leaving it at one set of tackle plus the breech line. I'm not sure if coiling the ends of the rope on the deck is historically accurate or not, but I'm doing it anyway for two reasons - I like the look of it and it's not hard to do and it tends to draw the eye away from some of my less skillful detailing.
David 

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
Just a quick update today. It doesn't look like much progress, but for some reason it has taken a lot of time. I'm working away on the components for the deck, so I've been working off the model. I'm almost finished and ready to start attaching things. I've finished the gunport lids, made the pin rails, prepared all my cleats, made the skylight, binnacles, wheel, ammo scuttles and capstan and the carronades and cannons are all ready for rigging. I've just placed a few of these on the deck for the picture. None of them is actually installed yet.
 
Throughout the build, I am approached various jobs with fear and trepidation, only to find they weren't too bad after all. On the other hand from time to time something jumps up and catches me off guard. The latest in this category was the skylight. I found it to be one of the hardest parts to make yet. My final result is nothing to write home about, but it's about my sixth iteration, and it's as good as it's going to get. I tried forming the hexagon from individual pieces and I tried cutting it from a sold block. I tried using wood and I tried using styrene and most attempts ended in an amorphous blob covered with glue. I don't have any miniature machine tools; only hand tools. This final version is cut from a single piece of basswood with styrene trim and I can live with it, although the six sides and not exactly even. The trim on the upper portion is half round styrene and flat strips on the base. The bars on the windows are very fine brass rod.  I wasn't sure what to use for the cap, so went searching through my basement and in my drawer of lamp parts I found a hollow brass ball which was on the end of a lamp's pull chain. I filed it down until only about half of it was left and popped it on top. The tops for the binnacles are the same. I tried using a couple of the brass beads from the lamp chain, but they were just a bit too big. This morning I went into a local jewelry making supply store we have in town and found these very small hollow brass beads which I was able to use in the same way by filing them in half. I only needed a couple, so the owner of the store just gave them to me - the advantages of small town living! 
 
That's it for now; soon on to rigging the cannons.
David

Hi Brian,
Thanks for your imput; very much appreciated. I'm quite interested in the micro saw and mitre box you mention. I have a very old (40+ years) xacto saw and mitre box, but they have seen much hard and inappropriate use over the years and are not functioning at their best. It looks like I could add these two new ones without breaking the bank.
 
David

Good Morning All,
Just a brief update. I've done quite a bit of backtracking, so no pictures util my next post. I added the four rear gun carriages on the port side and just to compare with the starboard side, I left the flemish coils off.
 
I now had some decisions to made and factors to take into consideration.
1. I was torn between which look I preferred.
2. My rigging on the second set of four was considerably cleaner than on my first set of four
3. If I decided on going without the coils, it would mean removing the first four which would leave quite a mess on the deck where the glue was.
4. I had been a bit sloppy and had two dabs of glue on the deck which I covered with some paint. It was passable but not really very nice.
5. If I was going to make any changes, it had to be now before I had any more details in place.
 
All of this was rolling around in my mind and it seemed to leave me with two options - either carry on as is and add coils to all of the lines and live with the two dabs of glue and so-so rigging on first four carriages or (shudder) remove the eight cannons, strip the finish off the entire deck, refinish it and then start over, being much more careful with the glue.
 
So, I set all that aside while I considered my options and built the mast top for the main mast which was quite an enjoyable diversion until I reached my decision. In the end I removed the carronades, masked the entire model from stem to stern and removed the finish on the deck with paint stripper. I've applied a new finish, which turned out to be better than the first one and I've now masked most of the deck to help ensure a tidier job as I reinstall the carronades. As for the coils, I'm going to install all of the guns without them and will decide whether or not to add them later.
 
I've have a couple of pictures in my next posting.
David

Hi Brian,
Thanks for your imput; very much appreciated. I'm quite interested in the micro saw and mitre box you mention. I have a very old (40+ years) xacto saw and mitre box, but they have seen much hard and inappropriate use over the years and are not functioning at their best. It looks like I could add these two new ones without breaking the bank.
 
David

Hi Brian,
Thanks for your imput; very much appreciated. I'm quite interested in the micro saw and mitre box you mention. I have a very old (40+ years) xacto saw and mitre box, but they have seen much hard and inappropriate use over the years and are not functioning at their best. It looks like I could add these two new ones without breaking the bank.
 
David

I got in a little time today on the ship after working most of the rest of the weekend.
 
I remade the bow pin rail and gave it a couple of coats of oak stain. It is still drying but here it is ready to be installed:
 

 
I enlarged all of the holes in the pin rails to fit the belaying pins. I think they closed up a little during the staining process. I then put belaying pins in all the rails.
 

 

 

 
I am working on making the baffle plate for the galley stack. I punched a round piece of copper from some sheet and blackened it today. I'll have pictures of it next time.

Good Morning All,
Just a brief update. I've done quite a bit of backtracking, so no pictures util my next post. I added the four rear gun carriages on the port side and just to compare with the starboard side, I left the flemish coils off.
 
I now had some decisions to made and factors to take into consideration.
1. I was torn between which look I preferred.
2. My rigging on the second set of four was considerably cleaner than on my first set of four
3. If I decided on going without the coils, it would mean removing the first four which would leave quite a mess on the deck where the glue was.
4. I had been a bit sloppy and had two dabs of glue on the deck which I covered with some paint. It was passable but not really very nice.
5. If I was going to make any changes, it had to be now before I had any more details in place.
 
All of this was rolling around in my mind and it seemed to leave me with two options - either carry on as is and add coils to all of the lines and live with the two dabs of glue and so-so rigging on first four carriages or (shudder) remove the eight cannons, strip the finish off the entire deck, refinish it and then start over, being much more careful with the glue.
 
So, I set all that aside while I considered my options and built the mast top for the main mast which was quite an enjoyable diversion until I reached my decision. In the end I removed the carronades, masked the entire model from stem to stern and removed the finish on the deck with paint stripper. I've applied a new finish, which turned out to be better than the first one and I've now masked most of the deck to help ensure a tidier job as I reinstall the carronades. As for the coils, I'm going to install all of the guns without them and will decide whether or not to add them later.
 
I've have a couple of pictures in my next posting.
David

Hi All,
I'm still just barely started on deck and hull details, but nevertheless felt like a change of pace, so I started shaping the lower masts. I was curious to find out how well the styrene would work for the chafing fish. I find that styrene very unpleasant to work with generally and it seemed to me that the .03 sheet would be very resistance to bending around the masts. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that it worked like a charm and wasn't even too hard to do. The secret is to do it in stages and to hold it in place with large paper clips and leave it for a long time. I often make the mistake of thinking CA glue is instant, but for something like this it needs to set for quite a long time.
 
I first applied glue only to the lower narrow part of the piece and clamped it in place. Then to the centre only of the upper wider section. Then to one side of the wider section and finally the other side. That's four separate steps to the process and for the one mast it was actually five as I needed to give the extreme outer edge on one side another gluing and clamping.
 
I sanded the edges and once it's all painted it should be just fine.
 
As always, thanks for checking in.
David
 
 

Thanks Dave,
When I was doing some google research on Flemish coils, most of the references I found were to modern sail boats rather than old war ships. It seems there is a school of thought that overuse of these coils can be considered "yachty" which is evidently a pejorative term. I don't know enough about sail boats to have an opinion one way or the other, but I guess to some I will have a very "yachty" Constitution!
 
David
 

Thanks Skip, Now I'm fussing that the line is too white. It isn't actually white at all; it's a real taupe colour but it looks white against the deck. It seems I'm never happy unless I'm unhappy about something! I noticed in the picture you indicated (I can't imagine that there's a copyright problem with simply including a link) has quite light coloured rigging too.
Thanks again,
David

Good Moring All,
I have a brief update. I've pretty much finished preparing all of the components for the deck and have begun installing them. I'm working from the stern to the bow and completing all the elements for each area as I move along. I've eliminated some of the rigging on the carronades. There are supposed to be two sets of tackle on each side, but I'm just modeling one of them. The scale of the blocks seems too big to me and when I tried to include the shorter set of tackle I ended up with the two blocks sitting very close together or even touching. It just looked too crowded and messy to me, so I've stripped it back a bit and leaving it at one set of tackle plus the breech line. I'm not sure if coiling the ends of the rope on the deck is historically accurate or not, but I'm doing it anyway for two reasons - I like the look of it and it's not hard to do and it tends to draw the eye away from some of my less skillful detailing.
David 

Good Morning All,
Just a brief update. I've done quite a bit of backtracking, so no pictures util my next post. I added the four rear gun carriages on the port side and just to compare with the starboard side, I left the flemish coils off.
 
I now had some decisions to made and factors to take into consideration.
1. I was torn between which look I preferred.
2. My rigging on the second set of four was considerably cleaner than on my first set of four
3. If I decided on going without the coils, it would mean removing the first four which would leave quite a mess on the deck where the glue was.
4. I had been a bit sloppy and had two dabs of glue on the deck which I covered with some paint. It was passable but not really very nice.
5. If I was going to make any changes, it had to be now before I had any more details in place.
 
All of this was rolling around in my mind and it seemed to leave me with two options - either carry on as is and add coils to all of the lines and live with the two dabs of glue and so-so rigging on first four carriages or (shudder) remove the eight cannons, strip the finish off the entire deck, refinish it and then start over, being much more careful with the glue.
 
So, I set all that aside while I considered my options and built the mast top for the main mast which was quite an enjoyable diversion until I reached my decision. In the end I removed the carronades, masked the entire model from stem to stern and removed the finish on the deck with paint stripper. I've applied a new finish, which turned out to be better than the first one and I've now masked most of the deck to help ensure a tidier job as I reinstall the carronades. As for the coils, I'm going to install all of the guns without them and will decide whether or not to add them later.
 
I've have a couple of pictures in my next posting.
David

Good Morning All,
Just a brief update. I've done quite a bit of backtracking, so no pictures util my next post. I added the four rear gun carriages on the port side and just to compare with the starboard side, I left the flemish coils off.
 
I now had some decisions to made and factors to take into consideration.
1. I was torn between which look I preferred.
2. My rigging on the second set of four was considerably cleaner than on my first set of four
3. If I decided on going without the coils, it would mean removing the first four which would leave quite a mess on the deck where the glue was.
4. I had been a bit sloppy and had two dabs of glue on the deck which I covered with some paint. It was passable but not really very nice.
5. If I was going to make any changes, it had to be now before I had any more details in place.
 
All of this was rolling around in my mind and it seemed to leave me with two options - either carry on as is and add coils to all of the lines and live with the two dabs of glue and so-so rigging on first four carriages or (shudder) remove the eight cannons, strip the finish off the entire deck, refinish it and then start over, being much more careful with the glue.
 
So, I set all that aside while I considered my options and built the mast top for the main mast which was quite an enjoyable diversion until I reached my decision. In the end I removed the carronades, masked the entire model from stem to stern and removed the finish on the deck with paint stripper. I've applied a new finish, which turned out to be better than the first one and I've now masked most of the deck to help ensure a tidier job as I reinstall the carronades. As for the coils, I'm going to install all of the guns without them and will decide whether or not to add them later.
 
I've have a couple of pictures in my next posting.
David

Good Morning All,
Just a brief update. I've done quite a bit of backtracking, so no pictures util my next post. I added the four rear gun carriages on the port side and just to compare with the starboard side, I left the flemish coils off.
 
I now had some decisions to made and factors to take into consideration.
1. I was torn between which look I preferred.
2. My rigging on the second set of four was considerably cleaner than on my first set of four
3. If I decided on going without the coils, it would mean removing the first four which would leave quite a mess on the deck where the glue was.
4. I had been a bit sloppy and had two dabs of glue on the deck which I covered with some paint. It was passable but not really very nice.
5. If I was going to make any changes, it had to be now before I had any more details in place.
 
All of this was rolling around in my mind and it seemed to leave me with two options - either carry on as is and add coils to all of the lines and live with the two dabs of glue and so-so rigging on first four carriages or (shudder) remove the eight cannons, strip the finish off the entire deck, refinish it and then start over, being much more careful with the glue.
 
So, I set all that aside while I considered my options and built the mast top for the main mast which was quite an enjoyable diversion until I reached my decision. In the end I removed the carronades, masked the entire model from stem to stern and removed the finish on the deck with paint stripper. I've applied a new finish, which turned out to be better than the first one and I've now masked most of the deck to help ensure a tidier job as I reinstall the carronades. As for the coils, I'm going to install all of the guns without them and will decide whether or not to add them later.
 
I've have a couple of pictures in my next posting.
David

Hi All,
I'm still just barely started on deck and hull details, but nevertheless felt like a change of pace, so I started shaping the lower masts. I was curious to find out how well the styrene would work for the chafing fish. I find that styrene very unpleasant to work with generally and it seemed to me that the .03 sheet would be very resistance to bending around the masts. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that it worked like a charm and wasn't even too hard to do. The secret is to do it in stages and to hold it in place with large paper clips and leave it for a long time. I often make the mistake of thinking CA glue is instant, but for something like this it needs to set for quite a long time.
 
I first applied glue only to the lower narrow part of the piece and clamped it in place. Then to the centre only of the upper wider section. Then to one side of the wider section and finally the other side. That's four separate steps to the process and for the one mast it was actually five as I needed to give the extreme outer edge on one side another gluing and clamping.
 
I sanded the edges and once it's all painted it should be just fine.
 
As always, thanks for checking in.
David
 
 

Good Moring All,
I have a brief update. I've pretty much finished preparing all of the components for the deck and have begun installing them. I'm working from the stern to the bow and completing all the elements for each area as I move along. I've eliminated some of the rigging on the carronades. There are supposed to be two sets of tackle on each side, but I'm just modeling one of them. The scale of the blocks seems too big to me and when I tried to include the shorter set of tackle I ended up with the two blocks sitting very close together or even touching. It just looked too crowded and messy to me, so I've stripped it back a bit and leaving it at one set of tackle plus the breech line. I'm not sure if coiling the ends of the rope on the deck is historically accurate or not, but I'm doing it anyway for two reasons - I like the look of it and it's not hard to do and it tends to draw the eye away from some of my less skillful detailing.
David 

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
Just a quick update today. It doesn't look like much progress, but for some reason it has taken a lot of time. I'm working away on the components for the deck, so I've been working off the model. I'm almost finished and ready to start attaching things. I've finished the gunport lids, made the pin rails, prepared all my cleats, made the skylight, binnacles, wheel, ammo scuttles and capstan and the carronades and cannons are all ready for rigging. I've just placed a few of these on the deck for the picture. None of them is actually installed yet.
 
Throughout the build, I am approached various jobs with fear and trepidation, only to find they weren't too bad after all. On the other hand from time to time something jumps up and catches me off guard. The latest in this category was the skylight. I found it to be one of the hardest parts to make yet. My final result is nothing to write home about, but it's about my sixth iteration, and it's as good as it's going to get. I tried forming the hexagon from individual pieces and I tried cutting it from a sold block. I tried using wood and I tried using styrene and most attempts ended in an amorphous blob covered with glue. I don't have any miniature machine tools; only hand tools. This final version is cut from a single piece of basswood with styrene trim and I can live with it, although the six sides and not exactly even. The trim on the upper portion is half round styrene and flat strips on the base. The bars on the windows are very fine brass rod.  I wasn't sure what to use for the cap, so went searching through my basement and in my drawer of lamp parts I found a hollow brass ball which was on the end of a lamp's pull chain. I filed it down until only about half of it was left and popped it on top. The tops for the binnacles are the same. I tried using a couple of the brass beads from the lamp chain, but they were just a bit too big. This morning I went into a local jewelry making supply store we have in town and found these very small hollow brass beads which I was able to use in the same way by filing them in half. I only needed a couple, so the owner of the store just gave them to me - the advantages of small town living! 
 
That's it for now; soon on to rigging the cannons.
David

Hi Everyone,
As tense moment this afternoon when I removed the masking tape from the copper plating, but I was relieved to see that it worked very well. My red line is reasonably crisp. There were a couple of places where there was very slight bleeding, but I was able to scrape most of the paint away without damaging the copper. If you look closely enough they are still slightly visible, but when all the many details are added to the hull, nobody's eye will be drawn to them.
 
I now just have to add the fenders to the starboard side, give them a final coat of poly and touch up the black in a couple of places and I will have Chapter 9 of the practicum behind me. Chapter 10 of the practicum deals with many of the outer hull details. In preparation I've been working ahead on some of the components - gunport lids, channels etc. There are sheaves set into the side of the hull and the practicum suggests simulating these with thin slices of dowel. It suggests a 1/32" slice of a 3'16" dowel for each one. I don't have a miniature table saw, so all of my efforts to slice them off with an xacto saw or knife only resulted in their crumbling into bits. My solution was to cut off a thin slice of styrene tubing that I had. (It's 7/32" but I think that's close enough to 3/16" for this purpose.) I then filled them with filler and polyed them. I think this will work, but I'll know better when I actually try to insert them. I included a picture of them below, but when I look at it I realize that I might as well have just photographed eight aspirin tablets - maybe I should just use eight aspirin tablets! 
 
That's all for now, and many thanks for comments and likes.
 
David

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
Just a quick update today. It doesn't look like much progress, but for some reason it has taken a lot of time. I'm working away on the components for the deck, so I've been working off the model. I'm almost finished and ready to start attaching things. I've finished the gunport lids, made the pin rails, prepared all my cleats, made the skylight, binnacles, wheel, ammo scuttles and capstan and the carronades and cannons are all ready for rigging. I've just placed a few of these on the deck for the picture. None of them is actually installed yet.
 
Throughout the build, I am approached various jobs with fear and trepidation, only to find they weren't too bad after all. On the other hand from time to time something jumps up and catches me off guard. The latest in this category was the skylight. I found it to be one of the hardest parts to make yet. My final result is nothing to write home about, but it's about my sixth iteration, and it's as good as it's going to get. I tried forming the hexagon from individual pieces and I tried cutting it from a sold block. I tried using wood and I tried using styrene and most attempts ended in an amorphous blob covered with glue. I don't have any miniature machine tools; only hand tools. This final version is cut from a single piece of basswood with styrene trim and I can live with it, although the six sides and not exactly even. The trim on the upper portion is half round styrene and flat strips on the base. The bars on the windows are very fine brass rod.  I wasn't sure what to use for the cap, so went searching through my basement and in my drawer of lamp parts I found a hollow brass ball which was on the end of a lamp's pull chain. I filed it down until only about half of it was left and popped it on top. The tops for the binnacles are the same. I tried using a couple of the brass beads from the lamp chain, but they were just a bit too big. This morning I went into a local jewelry making supply store we have in town and found these very small hollow brass beads which I was able to use in the same way by filing them in half. I only needed a couple, so the owner of the store just gave them to me - the advantages of small town living! 
 
That's it for now; soon on to rigging the cannons.
David

Hello All,
I brief update tonight - I have finished the copper plating, both sides as well as the rudder and all the annoying little edge pieces. It feels like a real milestone and I'm pleased enough with the results. When I removed the masking tape from the waterline on the port side, I noticed for the first time a pretty big dip in the waterline at the stern end. It was easy enough to fix by stripping back a few rows in the immediate area, replacing the masking tape to a better position and replacing the plates.
 
Later today I applied masking tape to mark the red stripe. I experimented with it first and it lifts very nicely off the plates without causing any damage, so my concerns in that area were unwarranted. I took Ken up on his suggestion of applying a clear coat to the plates first which should have the effect of sealing the line between the plates and the masking tape. I did that, but simply used some polyurethane. I have now added the red paint, but it will need a couple of more coats before I remove the tape and find out how successful I was.
 
The pictures below are of the finished copper, and I'll add some of the red stripe as soon as it's ready.
 
David

Happy Tuesday Everyone,
A bit of progress to report. I've finished plating the starboard side of the model.  I followed the LSS practicum and found it to be quite helpful. The concept of dividing the hull into gores was easy to grasp and it worked out well. The results are acceptable, if not stellar. It looks fine from a "normal" viewing distance of 50' or so , but up close it's full of flaws. It isn't too hard a process in theory, and in most aspects it isn't too hard in practice either, but it is challenging to get the plates in consistent even rows. If you look closely at mine, you'll see a few sine waves!.
 
The foil is very fragile and I'm a bit worried about protecting this side as I work on the other one. I think I'll thumb tack some padding along the bottom of the keel, run it up the side of the hull and tape it to the hull above the copper line. I have a soft pad to set the model on while I'm working, but even it will abrade the foil as the model moves. I think I need to have the padding stationary, tight against the foil and moving with the model.
 
Also, does anyone have any thoughts on masking in order to paint the red section along the top of the copper. In his practicum Bob suggests that masking tape will tend to pull the plates off when removed and instead he uses frisket film. I have never used such a product and judging by the pictures in the practicum, it doesn't look all that user-friendly to me. I'm just curious how others have handled this.
 
David

Good Morning All,
Just a brief update. I've done quite a bit of backtracking, so no pictures util my next post. I added the four rear gun carriages on the port side and just to compare with the starboard side, I left the flemish coils off.
 
I now had some decisions to made and factors to take into consideration.
1. I was torn between which look I preferred.
2. My rigging on the second set of four was considerably cleaner than on my first set of four
3. If I decided on going without the coils, it would mean removing the first four which would leave quite a mess on the deck where the glue was.
4. I had been a bit sloppy and had two dabs of glue on the deck which I covered with some paint. It was passable but not really very nice.
5. If I was going to make any changes, it had to be now before I had any more details in place.
 
All of this was rolling around in my mind and it seemed to leave me with two options - either carry on as is and add coils to all of the lines and live with the two dabs of glue and so-so rigging on first four carriages or (shudder) remove the eight cannons, strip the finish off the entire deck, refinish it and then start over, being much more careful with the glue.
 
So, I set all that aside while I considered my options and built the mast top for the main mast which was quite an enjoyable diversion until I reached my decision. In the end I removed the carronades, masked the entire model from stem to stern and removed the finish on the deck with paint stripper. I've applied a new finish, which turned out to be better than the first one and I've now masked most of the deck to help ensure a tidier job as I reinstall the carronades. As for the coils, I'm going to install all of the guns without them and will decide whether or not to add them later.
 
I've have a couple of pictures in my next posting.
David

Good Moring All,
I have a brief update. I've pretty much finished preparing all of the components for the deck and have begun installing them. I'm working from the stern to the bow and completing all the elements for each area as I move along. I've eliminated some of the rigging on the carronades. There are supposed to be two sets of tackle on each side, but I'm just modeling one of them. The scale of the blocks seems too big to me and when I tried to include the shorter set of tackle I ended up with the two blocks sitting very close together or even touching. It just looked too crowded and messy to me, so I've stripped it back a bit and leaving it at one set of tackle plus the breech line. I'm not sure if coiling the ends of the rope on the deck is historically accurate or not, but I'm doing it anyway for two reasons - I like the look of it and it's not hard to do and it tends to draw the eye away from some of my less skillful detailing.
David